Where I Belong
by ttfan111robstar1
Summary: Pegasus' greatest wish comes true: he is reunited with his love again, and it will prove to be the greatest adventure of their lives. Rated T for sexual content.
1. Wish

**Author's Note:** **There is sex in this chapter. Reader discretion is advised.**

 **"Love is stronger than death even though it can't stop death from happening, but no matter how hard death tries it can't separate people from love. It can't take away our memories either. In the end, love is stronger than death." -Anonymous**

Maximillion Pegasus sat on his private balcony, sipping a glass of wine. Today was always a bitter day for him, so he had sent his staff away early so that he could have some much needed time alone. He swirled his wine around in his glass. The bouquet was a bit too robust for his liking, but he didn't have the energy or motivation to get up and get a new bottle. It just served to make him angrier. Today was his beloved Cecelia's birthday, and he had spent the first part of the day visiting her at the cemetery. After that he had made a cake himself, frosted it, and cut the only piece from it.

On her last birthday, the two of them had made a cake together, laughing at how ridiculous it looked. So every year he baked a cake in honor of his sweet Cecelia.

He stared at the slice of cake sitting in front of him with a lit candle stuck in it. A lone tear slipped down his cheek. The image of his wife was fresh in his mind.

"Happy birthday my love." He whispered. As he blew out the candle, he thought, _I_ _wish more than anything to have you back with me here._ And at that very same moment, a falling star shot across the sky. He ate the piece of cake (albeit ruefully) before preparing for bed. As he laid there like he had so many times before, he longed for the sweet touch of his beloved wife as he fell asleep.

Normally Pegasus' sleep was either colorful and vibrant or inky and black- there was no in between. He thought tonight would be black and dreamless, but an unexpected flash of light shattered the darkness.

"Pegasus." Called a familiar voice. Pegasus found himself walking toward the voice. The white light was getting closer. But standing in front of the light was a person- Shadi. The man who had given him the Millennium Eye. "It has been a long time my friend." He said, quietly.

"What are you doing here?" Asked Pegasus, confused.

"I am here because the fates have heard your constant cries for your bride to be back in your arms."

Pegasus took a sharp breath. "... And?"

"You made the right wish at the right time. Fate has given you a second chance with her. Do not waste it."

Pegasus was having trouble processing his words. Trembling at the sound of them, he whispered: "Do you mean it?"

"Yes, my friend. I do indeed. So go now, and enjoy your life with your wife."

"Wait!" He called. Shadi turned around. "What's the catch?"

"What do you mean?"

"Everything comes with a price, does it not? What must I give in return to have her back with me?"

"Nothing, my friend. Not this time." Shadi smiled and turned around and was pulled into the light. Pegasus ran after him, but before he could reach him, he shot straight up in his bed and was awake. He looked around and saw the digital clock by his bed that read 3 AM. He laid back down when he realized something was laying beside him. Something warm. Suddenly he remembered his dream and gasped. Could it be? He leapt out of bed and fumbled around, looking for a light switch. At last he found it and flipped it on, whipping around to see if it was true.

And it was.

There lay his beloved Cecelia, sleeping soundly in bed. He rushed to her bedside to look closer at her face. His wish had indeed been granted. Her face looked beautiful as ever, and he was pleasantly surprised to see that she had aged along with him. Her skin was still like fresh milk with rose petals that colored her cheeks. Her hair was still corn silk splayed across the silk pillowcase. She looked even better than he had remembered. His eyes flashed to her wedding ring and his stomach curled in anticipation. How he longed to wake her and celebrate her return! But he couldn't bear to do so and disturb her sleep. So instead he walked back to the wall, flicked off the lights, and tried to go back to sleep. It took him quite a while, but at last he was able to sleep again.

When he woke up later that morning, it was to Cecelia's golden curls tickling him. He opened his eyes to her blue eyes staring up at him.

"Maximillion..." She breathed.

"Cecelia... Oh my darling... I've waited so very long for this moment." He said, stroking her cheek.

"So have I." She whispered. When at last their lips met in a kiss over fourteen years in the making, it was the most joyous and electrifying experience he had ever felt. When they parted, Pegasus ran his fingers through her hair.

"I can finally give you the life you deserve. You'll want for nothing, my love. And now that we're together again, nothing shall take you from my arms. I love you so much, my darling."

"And now only forever awaits."

For the first time in years, they made love. When he entered her, she was reminded of the late nights they had spent together as young adults. There was so much passion between them, so much heat. It was incredible. Now, as they made love in the room, she was made aware of the similarities between then and now. After an over fourteen year long break, they were back together and had renewed their passion for one another.

As he moved inside of her, the delicious friction began to build in her. This was what she needed. This was what she had craved. She was awash with sensation as her attention was scattered between different parts of her body. He touched her in just the right way, until her body was wound up to her breaking point. Then, with one love bite at the nape of her neck, her body exploded with a rush of pleasure as she cried out his name.

After a few minutes he moved so that her head lay on his chest. As she lay there panting, she could hear the thudding of his heart. It was strange for her to think of herself as the reason for his joy. But, she had never anticipated that something like this would happen. He planted a kiss on her forehead, and she felt a pulse of electricity race through her.

They were back together, and nothing would tear them apart.


	2. Telling Others

**"I haven't lived a perfect life. I have regrets. But that's from a lifetime of taking chances, making decisions, and trying not to be frozen. The only thing that I can do with my regrets is understand them." -Kevin Costner**

After their morning of making love, Pegasus and Cecelia finally got out of bed and got in the shower together, where they talked, laughed, and kissed frequently. When they finished they took their time getting dressed before they deemed themselves presentable to the outside world. The one thing that Pegasus wasn't sure of was how to introduce his wife to the castle staff. So he had her wait in their bedroom while he went to deal with the matter. Croquet, of course, was waiting for him in the banquet hall.

"Gather the staff for me, Croquet." He ordered.

"Yes, sir." Said his chief of security, bowing to his employer out of respect before beginning the arduous task of rounding up all of the employees on the island. The task was going to take some time- Pegasus knew that, so he went back to spend the time with Cecelia. Two hours passed by before Croquet knocked on the door again. He went out alone and saw the sea of people who worked for him standing at the ready. A hint of a smile crossed his face. Oh how he loved his job.

"Ladies and gentlemen, I have called you all here for a matter of the gravest importance. But before I tell you of this matter, you all must remember that you each signed a nondisclosure agreement before you began working here. Should you speak of what is to happen here to anyone, you will be breaking the law and will not only have to deal with that, but have to worry about my millennium eye. Am I understood?" He thundered.

"Yes sir!" They all said in unison.

"Very well. Wait here." He ordered.

As soon as he went down the hall the staff began to whisper to each other. What was going on here?

Pegasus opened up his bedroom door to see his beloved waiting patiently for him on their bed. He held his hand out to her and she slipped her own in his. He bowed to her and kissed her hand before leading her out the door.

The staff were Still whispering to one another when they saw two shadows coming down the hallway. One was clearly Pegasus, but the other was unfamiliar to them. When the pair of them stepped into the light, there was a collective gasp. Almost every eye in the room flew to the portrait hung up in the dining hall. It was _her_. The mysterious girl from the painting! But who was she? The staff began murmuring quietly to one another, but Pegasus clearing his throat brought silence upon the room.

"Everyone, this is my wife, Cecelia. You will be following her orders alongside mine. If any of you have a problem with that, you will answer to me personally. Am I being clear?!"

"Yes sir!" They answered quickly. He smiled.

"Good. That will be all for now."

They all departed the hall and went back to their respective jobs, Still in shock by what they had seen. Croquet himself was rather flustered. How had she gotten in unseen? He didn't know. But he pushed the thought aside. He wanted to keep his job, and knew where thinking like that could lead him. So he left the hall and left the two lovebirds to themselves as they were served breakfast. Those who were serving them noticed how in love they seemed, and how joyful. One of the servers at the castle had been there for over ten years, and he had never in his time there seen his employer as happy as he was right then. It was a joy to see. And although his face never showed it, he was smiling on the inside.

"What do you want to do, my love? And where would you like to go? Now that I'm retired, we can do anything you want. Your wish is my command." He said, holding her delicate hand in his own. She smiled at him, and it made him glad he was sitting down. She could still make him weak in the knees, just like when they'd first married.

"Oh Maximillion, you're such a gentleman." She said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "But we don't have to go anywhere special. Just being with you is enough for me. I want us to have the honeymoon we never had. All I want is uninterrupted time with you my darling." She said, looking up at him sweetly.

"Then that is exactly what you'll have." He declared. The two of them enjoyed a lavish breakfast together before he went to find Croquet. His chief of security was stationed in front of the dueling arena (why he was there, Pegasus didn't know, but he didn't care enough to look and see why.)

"Croquet, cancel all my plans for the next two weeks. I'm spending my time giving my wife the honeymoon she deserves."

Before Croquet could sputter out a protest, his boss was already gone.

Maximillion led his wife to the ballroom where they danced together for the first time since their wedding reception. As he encircled her in his arms, breathing in the unmistakable scent of lavender that came from her hair, he felt at peace for the first time in a long time. He finally had his wife back in his arms again, and that meant absolutely everything to him. He pressed a kiss to her forehead with all the tenderness and love that he could muster. She was his world, his life, and his soul. Nothing would ever part them again. As she leaned her head against his chest, she finally felt safe. Her beloved Maximillion was holding her again in a warm embrace. The icy hands of death could not claw at her anymore. She was back where she belonged, and it was the greatest gift she could ever have been given. A second chance with her husband. She knew it would be the adventure of a lifetime.


	3. Surprises

**Author's Note: This takes place in season 4 of the second series anime in case any of you were wondering.**

 **"Things never go the way you expect them to. That's both the joy and frustration in life. I'm finding as I get older that I don't mind, though. It's the surprises that tickle me the most, the things you don't see coming." -Michael Stuhlbarg**

For two weeks the two of them spent every possible second of every single day together. There was an old adage that said for some couples the honeymoon phase never ended. If that were true for anyone, it was true for Maximillion and Cecelia Pegasus. The joy they found in one another was unmatched by none. They chose to stay at duelist kingdom, even though they could have taken Pegasus' private jet to go wherever they wished. Cecelia enjoyed exploring the castle. She entertained her husband for hours on end by dancing and singing. He loved hearing her melodious voice float through the corridors of the castle. He in turn began painting again. The first painting he did was of her. However, he hired a professional painter to paint a portrait of the two of them together to hang in the dining hall. It was two weeks of pure bliss for the two of them.

When their second honeymoon was technically over, Pegasus returned to his work and caught up on all he'd missed. Luckily he didn't have to leave the castle yet. And even if he did, Cecelia would undoubtedly be accompanying him there. He couldn't bear to spend another moment away from her that was unnecessary. For her part, Cecelia spent her time in her husband's office. While he made business calls she sat in a comfy armchair, devouring one book at a time from the nearby library. When it came to meals, they always ate together no matter where they were.

The nights they had to themselves, and they were consumed with one another, in both innocent and not-so-innocent ways. They craved each other in the most basic way possible. He loved her deeply and she him. They were inseparable. And they stayed that way.

A week came and went like a summer breeze, and then another. Time seemed to move faster to make up for the fourteen years it had crawled by so agonizingly slowly.

What started out as a normal day would not prove to remain so. Cecelia and Pegasus went to the banquet hall like they did every morning. The smells of breakfast wafted through the castle, but instead of smelling delicious, to Cecelia they smelt awful. She ran straight to the bathroom and threw up in the toilet. She didn't see if Maximillion had run after her, but assumed that he had. Her hunch was proven correct when he knocked on the door.

"Come in." She said, weakly. He ran to her and helped her sit up.

"Are you alright?" He asked. She leaned her head on his chest and nodded.

"I'm fine. The smell just upset my stomach is all."

"You should lay down, darling." He said.

"Alright." Pegasus scooped her into his arms and laid her on her side of the bed.

He chose to forego breakfast entirely as he worried for his wife. He told Croquet to redirect his business calls to his cell phone while he worked off of his laptop. After a little while passed, Cecelia fell asleep while her husband worked. A few hours passed with little activity, but suddenly Cecelia's eyes opened. Pegasus noticed immediately.

"Cecelia? Are you alright?"

"Yes. I'll be fine. My breasts are just very tender right now."

"We need to have you looked at."

"Dearest, I'm fine. Really."

But he just wouldn't listen to her. "I'm flying a doctor out here today."

"Maximillion, I don't want you to worry about me. I'm just a little off today. That's all."

"Love, you need a doctor. Please. I can't bear to possibly see you in any more pain. I'm terrified of losing you again. Please do this for me. Give me peace of mind for tonight. Please."

There was nothing she could really say to that.

The doctor didn't arrive until late in the evening, and by that time to say Pegasus was on edge was an understatement. As the doctor took his wife away for examination, Pegasus was forced to confront his anxiety. He loved his wife so very much. More than life itself. He couldn't bear to see her hurting. Even more than that, he couldn't face the possibility of losing her again. She was his everything, and if he lost her once more, he might lose his will to go on.

Cecelia sat calmly with the doctor and explained her symptoms. As she did so, the furrow in his brow grew deeper and deeper, which started to worry her. He went to his medical bag (which he prepared for any situation- and with what Pegasus was paying he had better have been prepared.) and pulled out a small box and handed it to her.

"Follow these instructions and this should hopefully give you your answer."

She nodded and took the box while the doctor waited for her to return.

For Pegasus, every second felt like a year as he waited for his wife to emerge. He could have gone in with her, but she had insisted on going in alone. Now he regretted acquiescing to her wishes. He paced the room so furiously he wondered how he hadn't worn a rut in the floor.

Finally, the door opened, and he ran to his bride.

"Cecelia my darling, are you alright?" He asked, riddled with anxiety. She smiled at him and it eased his nerves.

"I'm perfect, my love, I'm wonderful..." A huge smile graced her face. "Maximillion, I'm pregnant."

Pegasus' jaw dropped open and he tried to make sense of her words. When the meaning finally dawned on him and the look on her face broke through the shock, a smile creeped up on his face. He picked up his wife and spun her around in a circle as she laughed. He pulled his wife to him and smiled at the doctor.

"Thank you, doctor." He said with a nod. "Send me a bill." The doctor nodded, gave his congratulations, and was flown out. When he left, the happy couple shared a passionate kiss.

Their world was absolutely perfect.


	4. Seal

**"There is good and there is evil. There are those who commit crimes and those who try and stop them. Both sides are opposites; as different as day and night, and the line between them is clear. Or at least, it's supposed to be..." -Robin The Boy Wonder (from Teen Titans episode "X")**

The two of them spent the evening celebrating their good news. Everyone in the castle was informed of the event, and were a part of the celebration. There was cake and drinks for all, other than Cecelia of course. Before the days end every worker in the castle had congratulated the happy couple. When they retired to their bedroom together, both were giddy with excitement and could hardly think of sleep. Eventually they did fall asleep, and dreamed of the family they were now in the process of making.

The next day, they spent their mealtimes discussing things that they would do for their child. Pegasus had insisted on painting the nursery himself. They chose the room right next to theirs and Pegasus wasted no time trying to figure out what design to paint the room, he sketched on his sketch pad absently as he made business calls. Cecelia, for her part, started reading parenting books and trying to prepare for motherhood as best she could. She was in the middle of the classic What To Expect When You're Expecting when the phone rang.

"Maximillion Pegasus... Yes, I am... What?... You're sure?... Very well. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Cecelia's head popped up as he hung up the phone.

"Who was that, darling?" She asked. Pegasus sighed.

"One of the people on my board of directors. He needs me in the main office in California."

She smiled. "Well, it looks like we're taking a trip to America."

They boarded Pegasus' private jet that night and slept through the flight. Pegasus had already booked them a hotel, but had the feeling that somehow it was unnecessary. When they touched down, they were taken by limo to Industrial Illusions headquarters. Pegasus and Cecelia got out while their bags were whisked away to the hotel. Pegasus took his wife into his office and had her wait there while he went into a board meeting. Cecelia kept her nose in her book while she waited for her husband. The hours ticked by, and very soon it was nightfall. She yawned tiredly and turned on the lamp on the desk to read by it's light. When the door opened again, she grinned. Pegasus sighed as he opened the door but smiled when he saw Cecelia coming toward him. She kissed him sweetly.

"How was it, my love?"

"Boring as could be, my sweet. But, as ever, you brighten my day." He decided to lie to her. He didn't want to burden her with the idea that someone was trying to buy out his company. He would handle that himself. She laughed and hugged him tightly. As they walked back to the desk, they both noticed some strange lights in the sky. It looked like the aurora borealis, but they both stopped short when they saw monsters coming down from the sky. Cecelia tightened her grip on her husband's arm.

"What is that?" she asked, sounding frightened. He wrapped his arms around her unconsciously, but couldn't tear his eyes away from the monsters flying and roaming the city.

"My monsters..." He whispered in shock. "What have they done to my monsters?" Cecelia stepped closer to him and put her hand on his chest. As quickly as it started, that was how quickly it ended. But Pegasus couldn't stop staring out the window. Cecelia looked up at him.

"Maximillion? Are you alright?" She asked, reaching up to tuck a lock of hair behind his ear. When he didn't answer her, she turned to him and pulled him into a kiss. That snapped him out of it. He knew he had to do something- and fast. But what could he do? And what was really going on here? He had to think. He sat down in his chair and tried to come up with a plan. He could feel Cecelia staring at him, but he couldn't worry about that now. This was serious. Suddenly, it all started coming together- someone buying out his company, the monsters coming down- it all wove into the most terrifying of patterns. He stood up abruptly, struck with an idea.

"Wait here my darling. I'll be right back." He promised, then ran from the room, leaving a stunned Cecelia in his wake. He ran to his private sanctuary to record his message, and then bolted to another room to make the tape that would get the only person who could possibly help him now: Yugi Moto. He had made a card earlier in the week that he had originally intended to be an access card for the nursery, but he had reconfigured his private sanctuary to accept that card only, and now he was enclosing it along with the tape. He wrapped his package and addressed it, then put it in the mail to be shipped to Yugi-Boy and his friends. He could only hope it got to him safely, before returning to his wife. He went over to her and clasped her hands in his own.

"Cecelia, my love, I'm in terrible danger. And as long as I am, you are too. And I can't have that. Not with our baby on the way. You must get somewhere safe before it's too late." He said, fearful. Cecelia's blue eyes bored into him. The pools of blue were so enormous he feared they would swallow him whole. She looked at him with firm determination.

"I'm not leaving you, Max. When we got married I vowed to stay with you for better or worse, and I never make promises I can't keep."

"But Cecelia, it's not just you anymore! We have to think about what's best for the baby. And putting you in danger means that our child is in danger. Please, be reasonable." He pleaded. "I couldn't live with myself if something happened to you."

Before she could answer him, she noticed something flash by the window, and was distracted, but ignored it. Pegasus sat at his desk.

"I can't believe the very monsters I made famous are now terrorizing people around the world... Talk about bad publicity." He said glumly.

"Do you always talk to yourself like that?" Said a different voice. Pegasus whipped around to see someone standing on the balcony. "You gotta get yourself some friends, honey."

He was stunned. "But how did you get past my security?!"

She grinned evilly at him. "I guess your office isn't as secure as you think, moneybags."

"I know you! You're Mai Valentine. Tell me, why did you come here?"

"Good question. I came here to duel you- and to take your soul!"

"NO!" He shrieked. Mai stepped forward.

"Get ready to lose it all, honey!" She said, activating her duel disk.

"Maximillion, you can't!" Said Cecelia, running to him.

"I must." He said, kissing her gently. He turned to Mai.

"Do whatever you want to me, but leave my wife alone!" He declared.

"Fine. I don't need weak souls anyhow."

"Let's duel!" They chorused. And their battle began. Cecelia was forced to watch the man she loved duel for his very soul- and was slowly backed into a corner.

"This duel's not over! I still have 100 life points left!"

"Not for long! My move! You thought it was fun to steal people's souls in duelist kingdom, didn't you? Well now it's time for me to have a little fun! Now I activate Harpie Lady Phoenix Formation! Since I have six harpies, it lets me destroy six of your monsters!"

"Oh no!" He cried.

"And thanks to my magic card, The sum of my monster's attack points gets subtracted from your life points!"

"No! This can't be happening!" He said as the seal of Orichalcos advanced on him. He looked at his wife apologetically just before his soul was sealed away and he collapsed to the ground.


	5. Journey

**"The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step." -Lao Tzu**

"MAX!" Shrieked Cecelia as she rushed to her husband's side. Tears started rushing down her face as she pulled him into her arms. "What did you do to him?!" She demanded.

"He got what he deserved." Said Mai. But that wasn't true. No one deserved to have their soul taken. Especially not her Maximillion.

"Give him back to me!" She ordered, curving over his limp body protectively. Mai scoffed at her.

"Fat chance. I need him for something bigger than you could ever imagine." She said, before disappearing into the night.

Cecelia clutched his body to her chest, sobbing hysterically. Her tears landed on his face, and she half expected him to reach up and gently wipe them away, but it didn't happen. So she laid him on the couch and clutched his hand in her own, praying for him to come back to her somehow.

Meanwhile, the staff at Industrial Illusions headquarters were carrying out the final frantic instructions of their boss and getting ready to fly to Domino City. Everyone had vacated the building- other than Cecelia, who stayed with her husband's lifeless body.

A day went by, when halfway around the World, Yugi, Joey, Tristan, and Tèa were popping a video tape into Yugi's VCR. Pegasus' face popped up on the screen.

"Greetings, Yugi-boy. It's been so long. You never call, you never write, after all we've been through together you could at least send an email."

"Hey guys, we're all still in the room, aren't we?" Asked Joey.

"Mhm." Tèa nodded.

"Now unless you've been living under a rock the past two days I'm sure you're aware that duel monsters are running amok around this world of ours. Lucky for me Kaiba-boy has been taking most of the heat for this recent state of affairs. Of course, I know who's really behind this."

"I knew we should play this tape, guys." Muttered Joey.

"I must stop them. They're ruining the reputation of my game and I'm afraid that's just not good for business. The only catch is it's too risky to leave you anything on this tape, so that means you'll have to come see me in person."

"Say what?!" Joey shouted.

"It's the only way to ensure complete secrecy. And last but not least I've enclosed a one-of-a-kind card. JUST MAKE SURE YOU DON'T LOSE IT!" He Cried.

"Fine, I won't!" Said Yugi.

"It's the only way into my compound. Guard it with your life! They mustn't take it!" Said Pegasus before the screen went fuzzy

"There's no way we can trust that guy!" Said Joey.

"Yugi?" Asked Tèa, looking at him.

"Let's go," said the Pharaoh. "Pegasus may just be our only hope."

Little did they know, Weevil and Rex had heard the conversation and were planning to tag along on their little adventure- wether they were invited or not.

For Cecelia, time had stopped when her husband was taken. She could no longer focus on anything else but her husband. She didn't notice when the building went into lockdown the next day, or that a duel was happening in the lobby. All she could see was her Maximillion. All she heard was the sound of his breathing.

When Duke Devlin was running around, looking for unlocked doors, he saw one cracked open, but didn't give it a second thought. Not then anyways. When everyone else finally caught up with him after Joey's duel with Mai, he led them to the only door that didn't unlock when he managed to unlock the building. Yugi slid the card into the recognition slot, and the door opened. Kaiba and Mokuba stepped in first. The lights flicked on, revealing a room full of toons. Everyone went inside, when suddenly, he appeared.

"Pegasus." Whispered Yami.

"Not quite." Murmured Kaiba. "It's a hologram."

"Yugi-Boy. At least I hope it's you who found this room. By the way, if you couldn't tell I did all the interior decorating myself. Pretty impressive, isn't it?"

"This guy has got to get over himself." Said Tristan.

"Keep it down, I can't hear!" Whispered Tèa, nudging him in the ribs.

"If you're hearing this, that can only mean that the gentlemen who were after my soul were finally able to capture me, so please listen closely."

"This is it." Said Yami.

"It all began when a mysterious man tried to buy out my company."

"Hold on. I got dragged into this mess because someone's trying to buy out my company also." Said Kaiba.

"That's right." Said Mokuba.

"But there's more... This individual has an ancient power stronger than any I've seen and his name is Dartz."

"Who's Dartz?" Asked Yami.

"Who cares." Said Kaiba.

"You're in danger. Dartz plans to use my game to destroy civilization. He must be stopped. And the key to taking him down is somewhere in this room! Ever since my retirement began I've had a lot of time on my hands. So I began to further my studies of the ancient Egyptian origins of Duel Monsters, and I made an astonishing discovery. These creatures existed long before the pyramids were even built!"

"In the city of Atlantis." Yami supplied.

"And that is where this Dartz character comes in. He's trying to resurrect the most terrifying beast to ever roam the earth: the great leviathan by draining the souls of man and beast to build up the strength of this unstoppable monster."

"Yes, of course..." Said the Pharaoh, remembering the words of another duelist he had previously defeated.

"If his plan works, Dartz will have succeeded in unleashing a truly devastating power, the likes of which have not been seen for ten thousand years! You're our only hope, so I've created an exclusive card just for you Yugi-boy!"

"No way!" Chorused Rex and Weevil, looking for the card.

"I've hidden this one-of-a-kind card somewhere in this room! Think strategically now: where can one find an extra card?"

"Pot of greed!" Said the pharaoh. "In the game of duel monsters that lets you draw extra cards!"

"Come to papa!" Said Weevil and Rex, running to the pot, only to be beat by Tristan, who pulled out the card.

"Oh real special card. This thing's completely blank, guys!" Tristan said.

"Then it's worthless." Said Kaiba.

"Not necessarily." Said the pharaoh.

"Time is running out. My cute little duel monsters... Soon they'll be gone, along with the rest of the world... Only you can save the poor creatures that made my game famous!" He declared. They all thought that the message ended there, but he continued on. "I also have a more personal favor to ask of you. This is a secret of the utmost importance. I didn't want to tell anyone about this, but I have no choice. You're the only one who could possibly help me in my hour of need. I need you to protect someone for me. Don't let her out of your sight! She'll be in my office on the top floor. Her name is Cecelia, and she is my beloved wife. Now that my soul has been taken I can no longer protect her... Please, I beg of you, keep her safe for me. When this ends I'll give you whatever you want, but please give me peace of mind and keep my wife safe. And when you see her, tell her I sent you and told her to trust you. If she doesn't believe you prove you're not lying by saying the following words to her: ti amo il mio bellissimo fiore. She'll know it was me. And when you see her, please tell her how much I love her." They were all shocked to see tears running down Pegasus' face. He looked at them earnestly. "Please protect her, Yugi-boy. You're the only one left I can trust."

With that, the message was over.

 **Author's Note: Italian translation: I love you my beautiful flower.**

 **Please Review!**


	6. Cecelia's Lament

**Author's Note: YOU GUYS HAVE NO IDEA HOW LONG I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS CHAPTER TO COME UP. Because I wrote the song in it last week and have been absolutely DYING to publish it, so let me know what you think and REVIEW. Oh yeah, and this song is an original work that may** **not** **be used without my** **express written consent** **. Enjoy the chapter!**

 **"I have come to the conclusion that the most important element in human life is faith." -Rose Kennedy**

Every eye in the room turned to Yugi, who was still a bit surprised at what he had just heard. Tèa stepped forward.

"Well Yugi, what do you think?" She asked.

"I'm not sure what to think right now." He remembered reading Pegasus' diary shortly after duelist kingdom and hearing him talk of restoring Cecelia body and soul. He realized that Pegasus must have succeeded. "But we have nothing to lose by finding her. Let's go see." Said the pharaoh.

"You geeks can go on your little quest. I'm leaving." Said Kaiba, leaving with Mokuba trailing behind him.

"Fine! Who needs you anyhow!" Yelled Joey.

That was when Duke remembered the door that was left slightly ajar.

"The door was open." He called as they all made their way to the top floor. Shortly after arriving, they thought they could hear something in the distance. The closer they got to the door the louder it became, until they were standing right outside and could finally hear the sounds of somebody singing. They peered through the opening to see a blonde woman in a purple dress kneeling beside the hollow shell that was once Pegasus' body and holding his hand in her own. Even though they couldn't see her face, they could tell she was crying by the sound of her voice as she sang quietly to her love.

"Maximillion, you're my heart and my life  
And I can't believe  
Your noble sacrifice  
What you did for me  
To give our child a life  
Beyond the womb

Maximillion, I'm hopeful but I'm scared  
That when this ends  
Your soul will not be spared  
And I'll be left to care  
For our child  
In this gloom

For what's my life  
Without you beside me?  
It's just not right  
Without you I'm like  
A bird without flight  
I can't spread my wings without your light  
To shine bright and guide me home  
Oh!

Maximillion, I'm trying not to cry  
But it's so hard for me to not ask why  
This tragedy had to happen to you and I  
Oh my darling what happens to you now?  
Will you find a way to come to me somehow?  
No matter what I swear I'll keep my vow  
I'll care for you as long as time allows

Maximillion, until you're back again  
I'll stay with you until the very end  
My love, my heart, I am with you  
And I will stay true  
For no matter what happens next my life is bound to you."

Cecelia's love and devotion to her husband touched them all in one way or another. It was the pharaoh who stepped inside first and walked toward her. He just wished he knew what to say. But Cecelia spoke first.

"Are you here to take my Maximillion away?" She asked quietly, not moving her eyes from him. "Because if you are you can turn around and leave. I won't let anyone hurt him."

"We aren't here for that. We're here because he left us a message asking that we protect you. And asked us to tell you that he loves you very much."

Cecelia finally looked up at him, and a smile crossed her face.

"You're Yugi Moto, aren't you?"

The pharaoh nodded.

"My Maximillion told me all about you and your friends. You won the title "King Of Games" from my husband, didn't you?" Again, he nodded and she smiled. "I suppose I should have guessed Max would have set up something to protect me. I'd be happy to accompany you on your adventure, but I can't leave him behind." She said, gesturing to Pegasus. "Not after all he did for me."

She flashed back to her time in the hospital, when her husband had stayed by her side for days at a stretch. She owed it to him to give him the same treatment. She couldn't bear to leave him here alone.

"Very well. We will take him with us." Said Yugi. "Now we must decide what to do now." He had to say, Cecelia's faith in him was surprising.

"We could hang out at my crib. Play a little dungeon dice monsters." Duke said.

"Wait, I know. Professor Hawkins. He lives around here. He may have some new information that could help us."

"Good call. He did say he was going home to continue his research on the lost city of Atlantis." Added Tèa.

"Yes. And I have a feeling that his discovery is somehow related to our new enemy." Said the pharaoh.

"Okay. We know where we're going but what about how?" Said Tristan. Suddenly they heard the roaring of engines. It was Kaiba's blue eyes white dragon jet- but it took off before they could get his attention.

"Well, so much for that idea." Tristan commented.

"Dude, no sweat. We'll just take my car." Said Duke.

"But are you sure we can all fit in there?" Asked Tèa.

"The five of us can squeeze in no problem." He answered.

"Yes, but there's more than five of us now." Said Yugi, pointing to Cecelia, Pegasus, Weevil, and Rex.

"That's alright. Max and I will just take one of his cars." Said Cecelia, trying to smile.

"Hello?!" Said Weevil.

"What about us?" Asked Rex.

"Why are you two guys here anyway?"

They laughed nervously.

"Hold on," said Duke, "I've got a spot for them."

While everyone else loaded their bags into Duke's car and Weevil and Rex stuffed themselves inside the trunk, Cecelia phoned a few of her husband's employees who got to Industrial Illusions headquarters remarkably fast. They brought a black stretch limousine and Croquet was the driver. He and a few other employees all worked together to carry the limp body of their boss downstairs and into the car, while Cecelia followed at a more leisurely pace. She got into the car first, and then had her husband laid gently in her lap. She instructed croquet to follow Duke's car and then waited while everyone else got situated. Once Duke started his car, they were off in search of Professor Hawkins' laboratory.


	7. Moving Forward

**"It's never nice to lose someone close to you; unfortunately, life goes on, and we have to make peace with it and move on." -Francois Hougaard**

 **Author's Note: Please Review! Most of this chapter is directly from the show.  
**  
The drive to Professor Hawkins laboratory seemed particularly long and arduous to Cecelia, but perhaps that was because she didn't have Maximillion to capture her attention. She looked down at his body in her lap and placed his hand on her stomach, wondering about their baby. She brushed a lock of hair away from his face and wondered (albeit morbidly) if he would be back in her arms Before she had this baby. She prayed with all her might that he would be.

When the limo finally slowed to a stop, Cecelia looked out the window. It was nightfall and there was a building burned to rubble and a small trailer near the wreckage. Croquet helped her get out of the car, and she stood up and walked over to where the rest of them were standing.

"You sure this is the place?" Asked Joey.

"Professor Hawkins! Rebecca!" Called Yugi.

"Yugi..." Said a blonde haired girl in a sad voice.

"Rebecca! What happened here?" He asked.

"Yugi... They took him... My poor grandpa!" She wailed, burying her face in his chest. "It's not fair! He didn't hurt anyone!"

"We're gonna find him. I promise."

"Thank you." She said weakly. "Who would do something like this?!"

"I still don't get it," said Tèa, taking a whistling tea kettle off of the stovetop, "who would kidnap the professor?"

"It had to be Dartz! Or his gang of thugs, anyway." Said Joey.

"Why? I mean the guy's just an archeologist." Tristan commented.

"But didn't you guys say he made some big discovery?" Asked Duke.

"Yeah. He found Atlantis." Said Yugi. "Rebecca, I've got an idea."

"What?"

"Remember that stone? The one I gave to your grandpa?"

"Yeah. I have it around my neck right here. Gramps told me to hang on to it."

"Maybe that's what Dartz and his lackeys are after." Said Tristan.

"Then be careful." Rebecca warned.

"Okay. So now what?" Asked Tèa.

"Easy. We find out where this Dartz guy hangs out, we bust in and get Hawkins." Said Duke.

"But how? I don't think they're listed in the phone book!" Rebecca countered.

"She's right. Besides, he doesn't have what they want. Which means they'll probably come back." Said Yugi.

"Great. So we just sit on our butts and wait?!" Asked Joey.

"I like my plan." Murmured Duke.

"If we're gonna stay here, I gotta eat. I can't wait on an empty stomach, you know." Said Tristan.

"Good idea! I'll whip something up!" Joey volunteered.

"I'm not eating anything you cook!" Joked Tèa.

"Don't worry. They're going to bring back your grandpa soon, Rebecca." Said Yugi.

In the end, Duke and Tèa ended up making dinner for everyone. Everyone except Weevil and Rex who were busy looking for rare cards through the wreckage of Professor Hawkins laboratory.

Cecelia sat with her plate in front of her. The food smelled delicious and she hadn't eaten in two days, but all she could do was pick at it with her fork. The emptiness in her heart outweighed the hunger in her stomach. Tèa put a hand on her shoulder.

"You need to eat." She said quietly.

Cecelia sighed. "I know. But I can't. Not without knowing. It's silly, my own peace of mind, I know. But nothing will be right again until Maximillion is back with me."

They were all quiet. Tèa spoke again. "You're pregnant, aren't you?" She said, remembering the song she sang earlier. A tiny smile crept onto her face.

"Yes, I am."

"You need to eat and stay healthy for your baby. Isn't that what Peg- er, Maximillion would want?"

"Yes. You're right. Thank you." She said, finally eating.

A little later, Yugi and Rebecca came out of the trailer and were within earshot of Weevil and Rex, still diggings or cards.

"So what did you want to talk about?" Asked Yugi. Rebecca looked at him sadly.

"I'm just scared, Yugi. This whole thing is so strange."

"I know. But we'll find your gramps."

Rebecca shook her head. "Mm-mm. There's more." She said, handing him a duel monsters card.

"What's this?" Asked Yugi.

"The creeps who kidnapped my grandfather left it behind. It came with a note."

 _I'll be waiting for you in Death Valley. You'll show up if you want to see your friend again. -Rafael_

"Oh no! How far away is Death Valley?"

"Well if we use Duke's car it shouldn't take us more than an hour or so."

"Sorry Rebecca, but I have to go alone."

"Why?"

"I've put you and your family in enough danger already."

"Uh-uh. Don't be silly, Yugi. None of this is your fault at all."

"Thanks Rebecca. But it's me they want and you'll be much safer here. And please don't tell the other guys where I'm about to go, okay?"

"But why?"

"I don't want them to follow me there."

The night went by and everyone went to bed, barely finding enough places to sleep. It was then that Yugi made his escape.

"Yugi." Whispered A voice.

"Don't worry Rebecca, I'll be back." He promised, and rode out to Death Valley.

Rebecca was wide awake with worry for Yugi when Joey awoke.

"Can't sleep either, huh?" He asked. She shook her head. That's when he noticed an empty chair. "Hey, where's Yug?"

"Uh, I promised I wouldn't tell." She said, meekly.

"Rebecca! How could you just let him leave like that?!" He Cried.

"Take it easy, Joey. It's not her fault." Said Tèa, comforting the girl. "You guys would have done the same thing."

"No, we would have talked some sense into him, Tèa." Said Tristan.

"I'm coming, Yug!" Said Joey, running outside.

"Oh no..." Murmured Tèa.

"Come on, get back here!" Tristan called after him. But Joey stopped dead in his tracks. "Hey man, what's wrong?"

Joey pointed to a figure coming toward them, doubled over and limping.

"Professor Hawkins!" Cried Tristan. Joey ran over and caught him before he fell to the ground.

"My grandpa!" Cried Rebecca, running over to him and hugging him tightly.

"Rebecca, where is Yugi?" He asked. They all helped him inside and laid him in bed where Rebecca sat beside him.

"I'm glad you're back, gramps." She whispered.

Meanwhile, the boys were loaded up in Duke's car.

"Alright, Tèa we'll find Yugi. You and Cecelia hold down the fort till we get back."

"Okay. Just be careful guys." She said.

"We'll be back soon." Said Joey.

"Keep an eye out for Rex and Weevil. I don't trust those two." Said Tristan and they were off into the night.

Little did they know, the two had taken off to watch Yugi's duel with their own eyes.


	8. Longest Night

**"I'm so tired but I can't sleep**

 **Standin' on the edge of something much too deep**

 **It's funny how we feel so much but we cannot say a word**

 **We are screaming inside, but we can't be heard..." -"I Will Remember You" by Sarah McLachlan**

After the boys left to find Yugi, Tèa went back into the trailer. She laid back down and tried to sleep, but couldn't. She was too worried for Yugi. She sighed and went to sit with Rebecca, who was still awake also.

"Can't sleep?" Asked the young girl.

"No. I wish I could." Replied Tèa.

"That makes three of us." Both girls looked up to see Cecelia walking toward the table. Tèa scooted over and let her into the booth.

"I guess it's a girls night in." Commented Tèa.

"So it would seem." Said Cecelia. "I don't think anyone will be able to sleep until Yugi gets back."

"Yeah. You're right." Rebecca sighed.

"How about I make us some hot chocolate?" Cecelia offered.

"Sounds good."

After three mugs of hot chocolate were made, they all sat talking about little unimportant things. After a while, Tèa decided to check in on the Professor.

"Professor Hawkins?" Called Tèa, but he was still asleep. "Your Gramps has the right idea. We could all us a couple of Z's."

"Not me. I've been doing some research on the web and I think I'm on to something."

"Wait, you're not trading duel monsters cards again, are you?"

"No! I found this strange article. It's about a cruise ship that sunk about twelve years ago and a boy who saved himself by swimming to an island. He spent three years of his life all alone on that deserted island, and according to this story he did nothing but practice playing duel monsters over and over again until he was rescued. And according to this his name was Rafael."

"The guy who's dueling Yugi?"

"Exactly!" She said, starting to run for the door.

"Wait!" Said Tèa, grabbing her.

"Let go of me!"

"Relax Rebecca, Yugi can handle that guy."

"You sure?"

She nodded, and Rebecca sat back down.

They all sat there whispering quietly to each other as the sun began to rise. When morning finally came, they all went to sit outside. After a little while, Rebecca spoke up.

"I'm still kinda confused about one thing, Tèa. It's something my gramps said. In the museum he told us that there were two Yugis."

"Well, not exactly. You see there's really just one Yugi but he sorta has this other side to him. You know, it's like a tougher, more confident Yugi!"

"Well I like his sweet and charming side. I'll never forget the day we met. He was such a gentleman. I never met anyone as nice as Yugi. But I guess he needs the tougher side of his personality also. That's why he always wins. When they work together there's nothing that can stop 'em!"

"Yeah, they're probably beating the pants off of that biker right now."

They all shared a laugh. Cecelia spoke up.

"Hearing you speak of Yugi like that reminds me of my Maximillion." She said.

"Really?" Asked Rebecca. A bit of a smile touched the corners of her mouth, and she nodded.

"Oh yes. We were just children when we met, you know. We were at one of his father's parties, and the second I saw him I knew I was going to marry him. And I got lucky because he felt the same way. We spent all of our time together from then on. When we got older we started dating. He used to paint portraits of me all the time. He told me that I was his muse. And when we were seventeen, he asked for my hand in marriage. I'll never forget his proposal. He knew how much I loved flowers, so after we went out to dinner he took me over to the botanical garden, and rented out the entire place for the night. Then, he plucked a rose from the bush and put the ring on the stem. It was one of the happiest days of my life. And our wedding day was the most joyous day in both of our lives." Her face dropped slightly. "But not long after that I got sick and was dying in the hospital... Maximillion stayed by my side for days at a time. And after I died he drove himself mad searching for a way to revive me. That was what took him to Egypt and helped him to create Duel Monsters. I watched it all happen. I know of every terrible thing he ever did, but he did it all to see me again. And, after fourteen years, he succeeded. After all he went through to get me back, I can only give him the same persistence."

Both of them were speechless, but were saddened by the tear that dripped down her face.

"I love him so much. He means absolutely everything to me."

Tèa put a hand on her shoulder. "Don't worry. We'll get him back for you."

She smiled weakly. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it."

Tèa looked at her watch. "Are they ever gonna come back?"

They heard a noise in the distance. Rebecca looked up. "Huh? Tèa, look! It's them!"

"I told ya they'd come back soon!" She said. Yugi came up riding Copernicus. "Yugi! You're here! So I guess you won!"

"Of course! My Yugi always wins!" Said Rebecca, wrapping Yugi in a tight hug.

"How'd it go? Is everything okay?"

"Not quite. We got a problem, guys." Said Joey sadly.

"Whaddaya mean?" Asked Tèa.

"Yugi didn't win." Said Duke.

"He's gone." Tristan added.

"Wha?" Said Tèa.

"You heard me... Yugi got beat, Tèa."

"You're wrong! I-if Yugi really lost that duel, those creeps would've taken his soul with their freaky magic card, Tristan!"

"So, what's your point, Téa?" Asked Joey.

"My point?! If he's lost, how could he be standing right... behind me... Oh no..." She said, suddenly realizing what had happened.

"Yugi, talk to me! What's wrong? Why're you acting so strange?" Asked Rebecca.

"Rebecca... they got him." Said Yami, full of compunction.

"Got who?" She asked, confused.

"Yugi..."


	9. Planning

**"Initiative is doing the right thing without being told." -Victor Hugo**

For a while, Yami spent his time blaming himself for what happened to Yugi- well, until Joey knocked him down that is. Cecelia watched him with pity. The poor thing lost his closest friend. She wanted to go and say something to him to make him feel better, but how could she comfort him when she couldn't even comfort herself? So she stayed quiet and listened to the conversation as it unfolded.

"So they wanna rule the world- we've dealt with that before." Said Joey nonchalantly.

"No, Joey. This time things are different." Said Yami.

"Yeah, they're not just talking about wiping out all life on Earth; they're doing it!" Said Tristan.

"But we know how to stop 'em!" Joey added.

"Huh?"

"We gotta go straight to the source, and destroy that secret weapon of theirs!"

"Oh, you mean that weird monster zapper in the sky?" Asked Tèa.

"Unfortunately that thing's after more than just monsters. It's using human souls, to power itself up so it can wipe out the rest of us." Said Tristan.

"Yeah, and right now that thing's got Yugi, so I dunno about you, but I'm not gonna stand here twiddling my thumbs! I'm gonna take action!" Joey replied.

"Look, Joey- I wanna help Yugi, too, but we can't just fight this thing by ourselves, we need help!" Said Tèa, standing up.

"No, Tèa." Said Rebecca.

"Huh?"

"In case you forgot, those jerks burned down my grandpa's laboratory and destroyed all his research! And without any hard evidence, there's no way anyone's gonna believe our story."

"But we have proof- it's all down in those underwater ruins!"

"Whatever was there won't be of any help to us now. The ruins are gone, guys."

"Someone ruined the ruins?!"

"They're one step ahead of us." Said Duke.

Just then, Professor Hawkins entered the room.

"Don't give up so easily."

"Gramps, you're awake!" Cheered Rebecca.

"Yeah, shouldn't you be resting?" Said Tèa.

"I'll be fine. Anyway, who could sleep with you kids chitchatting all day? Besides, I can help you find the information you need. You're right about looking to the ruins for answers."

"So, did you discover anything more about these thugs?" Asked Yami.

"Well I can't be sure, but based on the inscriptions I found, there's a good chance these fellows are descendants of Atlantis! An ancient continent, said to have disappeared into the ocean thousands of years ago, without a trace."

"Are you sure?" Asked Tèa.

"Professor, if your hunch is right, why would these people wanna destroy what was left of their ancestors' city?" Duke inquired.

"They must be trying to hide something. Those ruins revealed the history of Atlantis, and it's not a pleasant one. They must want to keep it a secret."

"How much of this history do you know?" Asked Yami.

"Thousands of years ago, Atlantis was home to the most advanced civilization the world had ever known! It truly was a paradise on Earth, a land of eternal tranquility where everyone lived in peace. Until one day, when a dreadful creature was called forth from the depths of the Earth by an evil king."

"An evil King?" Murmured Yami, remembering what Rafael said about him being an evil King during his time as Pharoh. "Oh no..."

"What's wrong? You okay?" Asked Tèa.

"I'm fine." He said bleakly.

"It seems this power-hungry king drew his evil strength from a mysterious stone. And this stone drew its strength from another world." Hawkins continued.

"It's that rock they wear on their neck! Isn't it!" Said Joey.

"I'm not sure; that was all I was able to translate."

"No!" Yelled Joey.

"Chill out man, you'll blow a gasket!" Said Tristan. But Joey was too riled up to be calmed down.

"You guys don't get it, do ya! Those Atlantis freaks are trying to cover somethin' up about this ancient mega-monster."

"Of course! There was probably something written in those ruins about how to destroy that thing before it destroys us!" Said Duke.

"I get it- hey Joey! I guess you had your good idea for the year!" Tristan teased.

"The ruins may've been destroyed, but there are copies of the inscriptions at a museum. It's in Florida, where I was doing my underwater research." Said Professor Hawkins.

"Perfect! So all we have to do is go there and translate the rest!" Tèa said.

"Haha, what're we waitin' for! Let's head to the Sunshine State, and find out the secret to defeating these guys and saving Yugi, right?!" Joey asked.

"Huh! I'm right behind ya, man! Heh! Goodbye to Death Valley, hel-lo to fun in the sun!" Tristan cheered.

"That's great. Just one question: how're we supposed to get there?" Asked Duke.

"We're doomed." Said Tristan.

They tried calling Kaiba to ask for a ride, but were denied. Not that Joey was surprised. But it was still a harsh blow to their hearts.

"Now what?" Asked Yami.

"No ride?! That stinks!" Said Joey.

"Ugh, that jerk! How're we supposed to get down to Florida now?!" Asked Tristan.

"Well, I say the Professor stays here and we hop the next flight!"

"He's right, gramps, running around the country is not the best thing for you right now." Rebecca pointed out.

"Duke- why don't you stay here and keep an eye on the Professor?" Joey suggested.

"Sure." He said, nodding.

"So I guess a private jet is outta the question, huh?" Asked Tristan. Suddenly he remembered that Cecelia was there and looked up at her. "Cecelia, is Pegasus' private jet still here?" He asked. Every eye in the room turned to her hopefully.

She shook her head. "No. There was a serious problem at the castle in duelist kingdom and the rest of the servants had to fly back to help fix it. It looks as if we're marooned." She said dejectedly.

Rebecca sighed sadly.

"I'll book our flights, and we'll take a train to the airport. I just hope we can save Yugi before it's too late."


	10. Trapped

**Some people want it to happen, some wish it would happen, others make it happen. -Michael Jordan**

Everyone gathered later at the train station to say their goodbyes.

"How long is this train ride, anyway?" Asked Tèa.

"Too long." Said Joey. Tèa sighed.

"Any chance you want to go instead of me, Duke?" She asked.

"No can do, Tèa. I gotta stick with Professor Hawkins in case those biker dudes come back!"

"Duke's right. Plus he's gotta keep an eye on Rebecca." Said Tristan.

"You better get on before you miss your ride!" Duke stated.

"We got plenty of time." Joey said, shrugging it off.

"No we don't" countered Tristan as the bell rang.

"Like I said, all aboard." Joey grabbed his bag and headed to the train. Cecelia and Croquet were next, Croquet carrying Pegasus.

"Take Care, Duke." Said Tèa, boarding the train.

Everyone sat together and the train finally started moving.

"Smell ya later, Devlin!" Called Joey.

Tristan and Joey headed to the dining car while Yami stayed with Tèa, Cecelia, Croquet, and Pegasus. Cecelia saw Yami's glum quietness and decided that she couldn't stand it anymore.

"Pharoh." She said quietly. He looked up at her.

"Yes?"

"I know what it feels like to lose your other half." She said, glancing at her husband's body. "I understand the horrible emptiness you feel, and the terrible knowledge that accompanies it that there's no one else in the world that can fill that space. I know what it's like to not be able to sleep at night because you know if you had just done that one thing differently, none of this would have happened. I know what it is to blame yourself for all of it and to swear you won't rest until they're back in your arms again. I understand your pain. And for that I'm truly sorry."

"Why are you sorry?"

"Because I couldn't prevent you from suffering the same fate I did."

"There was nothing you could have done." He said simply. Cecelia almost snorted with bitter laughter.

"Tell that to my conscience when I try and sleep tonight." He tried to smile a little at that, but failed. Cecelia, feeling a tiny bit better, turned her attention to her husband and held his hand. She heard Tèa trying to get him to speak and cheer up, but knew that it would be a fruitless endeavor. When the Pharaoh had enough, he apologized and went to another car to be alone.

"He's been gone for a while." Remarked Tèa.

"He's not the only one." Said Tristan.

"Huh?" Said Joey.

"Call me crazy, but wasn't this train full of passengers just a minute ago? What's the deal? How can a train full of people all of a sudden be empty?"

"What?" Asked Joey, looking around.

Cecelia tore her eyes away from Pegasus to see that he was correct. The train was empty. She got up to join them.

"Alright. Now I'm officially freaked out." Murmured Tèa. "Anyone in there, Joey?"

"Not a soul." He said in surprise.

"Do you have to say 'soul'?" Asked Tristan.

They all went into the next car.

"It's a complete ghost town in here." Said Joey.

"Don't say ghost either." Tèa remarked.

The door opened to reveal Yami. Tèa sighed in relief.

"There you are!"

"In case you haven't noticed, something weird is going on!" Said Joey.

"If you ask me, I'd say this whole train ride is another trap!" Tristan commented.

"I'm sure those same slimeballs are behind this! And I bet they're on board!" Joey declared.

"Well what are we standing here for? Let's get 'em!" Said Tristan.

They all started running for the car, Yami leading, Cecelia behind him, Tèa next, and Joey and Tristan last when suddenly the car began to break apart. Yami was safely on the other side when it happened. Cecelia hopped slightly to get across. But Tèa was unlucky to have it break under her.

"Oh no!" She cried.

"Grab my hand!" Called the Pharoh. She made it across, but the same could not be said for Tristan and Joey, along with Croquet and Pegasus, who hadn't moved until now.

"Pharoh! Cecelia! Tèa!" Called Tristan. "What do we do now?"

"Get help!" Yelled Yami.

"Come on! We have to find a way to stop this train!" Said Tèa.

"Hey! We're slowing down!" Tristan screamed. "You heard him! We gotta get help!"

"I know. But there's a problem." Said Joey. "We're in the middle of nowhere! We don't even know where those two are gonna end up! Bye guys. Hang in there."

"Guess it's just you and me now." Said Tristan. But, hearing a laugh, they turned around. There stood Rex Raptor.

"Rex?! What are you doing here?!" Joey yelled.

"I still have a score to settle with you, Wheeler. Remember? You took my red eyes black dragon!"

"Rex, this is not the time." Said Joey, calmly.

"It's the perfect time... For revenge!"

Meanwhile, Yami and Tèa were walking through the train. Tèa tried phoning the conductor, but no one answered. Yami ran outside of one of the cars. Tèa and Cecelia followed him in hot pursuit.

"Yugi! What are you doing?!" Tèa cried.

"I've gotta get in there so I can stop this train!" He yelled.

"But how?" Tèa asked.

"I have an idea. There may be an emergency hatch on the roof!"

"Be careful!" She warned as he started climbing the ladder. When he got to the roof, he heard laughter.

"Weevil Underwood! Are you behind this?!You'd better start explaining yourself!" The pharaoh demanded.

"Weevil!" Tèa cried, climbing up the ladder. "What do you want with us, worm-boy?" As soon as she was safely up, Cecelia began climbing.

"What do you think I want? A rematch with the King Of Games!"

"Are you nuts?!" Called Tèa as she helped Cecelia onto the roof.

"I'm just in the mood for a friendly duel." Said Weevil.

"Weevil! Who put you up to this?!" Asked the Pharoh.

"No one did. I just figured now was a good time to test out my new secret weapon, that's all!" He said, pulling a stone from his pocket and showing it to Yami.

"You've been brainwashed, Weevil!" He yelled.

"Wake up! Those guys are just using you!" Added Tèa.

"Who cares?! As long as I have ultimate power!"

"You're wrong!"

"Then just duel me!"

"Wait a minute!" Called Tèa.

"Tèa, no! It's too dangerous!" Said the pharaoh as she stood next to him.

"Don't you realize that if you go through with this duel one of you guys is going to lose your soul forever?!"

"Tèa..."

"Of course I do! That's the whole reason I'm here! To make him pay by sealing him away! But don't worry. Soon you'll be locked away with your friend Yugi, Pharaoh." Weevil laughed.

"Where is he?! Tell me!"

"I'm afraid the only way to find out is to duel me! So if you back down now you'll never see that little twerp again!"

"Very well. Then let's duel!"


	11. The Quest

**"We travel, some of us forever, to seek other states, other lives, other souls." -Anaïs Nin, The Diary of Anaïs Nin, Vol. 7: 1966-1974**

As Cecelia watched the Pharaoh duel, she could help herself from replaying what had happened to her beloved Maximillion over and over again in her mind. She didn't want to think of the possibility that the man her husband had begged to protect her would be defeated. What would she do then? And how could she save her Maximillion? The thought made her shutter, but it wasn't noticeable since they were atop the train. Unconsciously, she started fiddling with the heart shaped locket around her neck. She never took it off. It contained a picture of Max and herself on their wedding day. It was the greatest day of her life. Now, she opened the locket and fixed her eyes on her husband's face. She had to get him back. There was no other option. She held the locket to her chest.

 _Max, I promise I'll get you back._ She swore.

She heard Tèa say something to Yami and Weevil, but wasn't paying attention to it. She was so wrapped up in her own thoughts that she paid what was happening no mind. Well, not until she noticed the frightened look on Tèa's face, that is. Her eye traveled to the pharaoh, who was repeatedly striking Weevil over and over again with a ferocity that seemed primal and animalistic. What on earth had she missed that had angered him so? She'd have to ask later. The seal of Orichalcos took the young boy away. Tèa ran to Yami and stopped him from attacking the already soulless Weevil again.

"Tell me where Yugi is!" He demanded, shaking Weevil's body.

"Pharaoh, it's no use. You won. So the seal of Orichalcos took Weevil away." Said Tèa, sadly. The Pharaoh stared down at his hands. "Pharaoh?" Asked Tèa, worriedly. Cecelia went over to them, when suddenly the train derailed and crashed. And that was the last thing she remembered.

Cecelia awoke to Tèa gently shaking her shoulder and sat up in her bed.

"Where are we? Last thing I remember we were-" but Tèa was cut off by growling. A wolf entered the tent and leapt toward Tèa.

"Tèa, no!" Cried Yami. But the wolf wasn't harming her- she was kissing her, and did the same to Yami and Cecelia.

"Skye! Get back here! Skye!" Called a little girl. "That's no way to treat our guests!" She chastised, then turned to the three of them. "Sorry if she woke you up."

"Who are you?" Asked Yami.

"You can call me Chris. And you've already met Skye. She's the one who found you. She was sniffing for food and ended up sniffing out you guys instead!"

They all went out of the tent, and Skye went straight over to an elderly man who was gathering Yami's deck. "Skye." He murmured. He turned to look at the four of them. "I see your strength is back."

"Yes. Thank you."

"Pleased to hear it. You three had me worried. By the way, the name is ironheart and I believe this belongs to you." He said, handing Yami his deck. "Pardon me for being intrusive, but I couldn't help noticing you possess the legendary Eye Of Tamaeus. The only one of its kind." Yami handed the card to him.

"Take it. I'm not deserving of its power."

"That's not true." Said Tèa.

"I'll hold it until you're ready." Said Ironheart.

"Did you find another kid? He had glasses and a bad haircut. He was on the train with us when it crashed." Said Tèa.

"No, I'm afraid you are the only ones we found. Perhaps your friend was able to escape before the train fell off that cliff. I assure you there wasn't another soul on board."

"I highly doubt Weevil was able to escape. Not in the condition he was in. I'm afraid there's a greater power at work here." Said Yami.

"I must say young man, you seem to possess a wisdom that reaches far beyond your years. Now I've encountered many people in my travels, but there's something about you I've never seen before. Something in your eyes. I'm also sensing you and the young woman beside you hold a great deal of loneliness in your hearts."

"That's because I recently lost a very close friend of mine- and now I'm on a journey to find his soul."

"And I recently lost my husband in the same manner." Said Cecelia.

"What will you do if you find him?" Ironheart questioned Yami.

"I'll apologize for betraying his trust and abandoning him."

"And you?" He said, turning to Cecelia.

"I'll tell my husband how much I love him and that I'll never stop searching for him until his soul is freed and he's back in my arms again."

"I may just be able to help." Said Ironheart. "Follow me."

"Uh, Mr. Ironheart sir, where are we going?" Asked Tèa.

"Patience my dear friend." he said. The rock beneath Tèa's feet crumbled, and she almost fell, but Yami caught her in time.

"Did I mention to watch your step?" Said Chris. "Oh, and it's probably better if you don't look down."

"Don't worry, our destination isn't far from here at all."

"What happens when we arrive?" Asked Yami.

"We'll have crossed over to the other side. To the place where the spirits dwell. You see my people believe that human souls exist all around us. And just beyond this mountain is a sacred valley where drifting souls are said to gather as they wander along."

"And you think our friends may be there?"

"Perhaps. But there are evil spirits there as well. Finding the soul you seek is easy. Leaving with your own is another thing. It's not too late to back out."

"I can't turn away. Not after all I put Max through." Said Cecelia, who looked at Yami.

"I must go. I owe it to Yugi."

They walked a little longer until at last they got to their destination.

"There it is." Said Ironheart.

"What do we do when we get there?" Asked Yami.

"Not we- you. You must enter the sacred circle on your own. After all, this is your journey."

"Very well. I accept the challenge." Said Yami. He looked at Cecelia. "You should go first." He said.

"Are you certain?" She asked. He nodded. "Okay."

With that, she started walking into the valley.


	12. Vision

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: I'm so glad you're liking the story so far! I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I did!**

 **Please review!**

 **"My dearly beloved if I am to die today and never see the sweet face of you I want you to know that I am no great man and am lucky to have such a woman as you." -Wild Bill Hickok**

Cecelia felt the icy claws of fear beginning to take hold of her as she started her descent into the valley. This was either going to be very helpful or an absolute waste of time. There was no in between. On top of that, She wasn't dressed for mountain climbing. She just felt lucky that her shoes were comfortable, although that didn't stop her back from hurting. Oh the joys of pregnancy... Now that she thought about it, the symptoms had mostly left her alone lately (thank God). It was like her body understood that her husband was in danger and had backed off accordingly. Well, most of the time.

She was very careful as she made her way down into the valley, testing almost every step before she made it. It took more time than she wanted to admit, but she finally got on solid ground. As abruptly as her confidence had began over making it down the mountain, they ended as soon as she saw swirling white-gray mist creeping toward her and dozens of voices whispering to her, ordering her to turn back. Her confidence dropped to half of where it once was, but like any lady of good breeding she never showed it. Instead she straightened her back, squared her shoulders, turned up her nose and started walking. The mist curled and wrapped around her, and the voices grew louder and more insistent, but she refused to listen to it. The mist suddenly took the form of people. Many of them she didn't recognize, but there were a few. She walked through the ones she didn't know and around the few she did.

As she neared the center of the circle, she felt nervous anticipation and fear battling it out for control of her body. When last she reached the final layer of the circle, shock came from out of no where and took complete hold of her as she felt a presence nearby that was as familiar to her as breathing.

"Maximillion." She breathed, almost too quietly for herself to hear.

Then, as abruptly as her fears began, they ended as soon as she felt her husband there with her. The ghosts and whispers suddenly didn't matter anymore, and she watched little balls of brilliant light converging in the shape of a person's body. She held her breath and squeezed her hands together until finally, her love appeared.

"Max..." She whispered. He turned around to face her.

"Oh Cecelia... My darling. I've missed you so much.

"I missed you too." She said quietly. When she realized that she was actually talking to him, she broke out into a smile. She reached up to stroke his cheek, but her hand went right through him, and it dampened her spirit more than she wanted to admit. He smiled at her.

"I know. I wish I could touch you too." He reached his own hand up to try and wipe a tear from her cheek, but it didn't work. "My love, I'm so proud of you. You've come so far and done so much. I'm touched that you would go through all of this for me."

"Maximillion, I would go to the ends of the earth for you. You know that."

He smiled at her. "Yes. Yes I do."

Her thoughts suddenly grew dark, and she looked down at the ground. "What can I do, Max? How can I save you and bring you back to me?"

"Do what you've been doing. You're already well on your way to stopping Dartz. Just stick with Yugi-boy. He'll get you through the rough parts of this journey."

"That's all?" She asked, surprised.

"If there's ever anything else that you need to do on your own for the good of the whole, you'll know when the time is right. Trust yourself."

"You know I'm not good at that."

"Well you're going to have to get good at it for both of our sakes." He said, gently. His eyes flashed down to her belly, and he laid a phantom hand on her stomach.

"You must keep yourself safe. You must keep our little one safe. The baby can't be put in danger, so you can't be endangered. I can no longer protect you, and even Yugi-boy can only do so much. You must be careful, my darling. Promise me that much."

"I'll do everything I can." She promised.

"I love you both so much. Hopefully this will all be over soon and I'll be able to hold you in my arms again."

A tear sparkled as it ran down her cheek.

"I'm scared, Max. What if we don't win and I can't save you?"

He reached up once more to stroke her cheek. If she concentrated hard enough, she could have sworn that his hand was really wiping her tears away.

"You will save me."

"But what if I don't?" She pressed.

He clasped her hands in his own. "I'll always be there with you, Cecelia. Even when I'm not here I'm never far away. Whenever you miss me, just remember all the things we've done together and all the things you love, and I'll be there. My heart is always with you."

He pulled her into an embrace, and then gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Farewell my love. I'll see you very soon." He promised.

With that, he burst into dozens of white lights and disappeared.

Cecelia stood there in surprise for a moment or two, and then her hand went to the locket around her neck and the other rested on her stomach. She loved him so much. More than life itself. And she wasn't going to stop until he was back in her arms. She rubbed her stomach, as if it were a lucky talisman. Maximillion just had to be back before she had this baby. He just had to. She would never give up on him. He was her everything, and they were going to be a family no matter what she had to do to to get him back.


	13. Overcoming Fear

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: Thank you so much for your lovely review! It made my day! I hope you love this chapter!**

 **"Regrets collect like old friends  
Here to relive your darkest moments  
I can see no way, I can see no way  
And all of the ghouls come out to play  
And every demon wants his pound of flesh  
But I like to keep some things to myself  
I like to keep my issues drawn  
It's always darkest before the dawn..." -"Shake It Out" by Florence And The Machine  
**  
After her husband vanished from her sight entirely, Cecelia didn't hesitate to start walking back to the mountains. The apparitions of other people popped up as they did the first time, but she paid them no mind. Seeing Maximillion had erased any nerves she might have had. However, once she was faced with the side of a mountain to climb, she couldn't help the nerves that came back to haunt her.

The Pharaoh and Tèa were watching her interaction with her husband and were genuinely surprised. Pegasus was so tender to her. It was a side of him that was most unexpected. But now that they saw him this way, they understood all of the actions he had taken during duelist kingdom to try and get Cecelia back. It was poignantly clear that she was absolutely everything to him, and vice versa.

Climbing up the mountain in a dress and heels was no small feat. However, against the odds and despite a few obstacles, she made it up. Yugi and Tèa helped her back on the ledge. She put a hand on his shoulder. "Good luck." She said. He nodded and started down into the valley. Tèa was about to go with him.

"Wait up!" She yelled, and started going down. But Cecelia reached out and took her by the arm.

"Tèa, come back!" Called Chris.

"Only one soul seeker is permitted to enter at a time." Said Ironheart.

He went down in the valley when he heard the same voices Cecelia did.

"Pharaoh! Turn back!" They called.

"What's happening?" Asked Tèa.

"Your friend is attracting lost souls that seek revenge." Ironheart replied.

The ghost form of Panik, the Paradox brothers, Bandit Keith, a rare hunter, Arkana, Yami Marik, and Weevil Underwood all appeared, but he walked right through them.

"Yugi?!" He called, entering the circle as the memory of the seal taking him replayed in his mind. Suddenly the orbs of light started coming together, just as they had when Pegasus had appeared.

"You see that, Tèa? It means a spirit is crossing over into our world. Keep watching." Said Chris.

Finally, Yugi appeared. "Is that really you?" He asked the pharaoh.

"Hey, it's him!" Called Tèa.

"Yugi, I've found you!" Said the pharaoh in relief.

"You came all this way just to see me?"

"Of course. I wanted to say how sorry I am."

"I'm sorry too. I wish this whole thing never happened."

"It's my fault. I surrendered to my inner darkness. I allowed my anger to take over and you paid the price. Now that you're gone, the darkness is starting to grow. Without your light to keep me pure, I'm becoming evil, Yugi. I'm beginning to think that what Rafael said about me is true. Perhaps I was a wicked pharaoh. What if I am the one responsible for the destruction of Egypt? If I am capable of such horrific behavior then it's my soul that should be locked away..."

"Well what good is that now? I'm the one who's been locked away forever. Not you."

"I'm sorry."

"The last thing I need is your pity, pharaoh! If you're really evil, there's only one thing to do..."

"What are you saying?"

"You said it yourself, didn't you? Your spirit should be locked away with mine. And I'm gonna do it."

"Wait, you misunderstood me!"

"Oh, so now you're changing what you said?! Make up your mind! You don't deserve to be a part of this world."

"Yugi..." Whispered the pharaoh in shock.

"It's about time you started taking some responsibility for what you've done! There's only one thing left to do and you know it! You need to be a man for once and face me in a duel, now!"

"No, please..."

"Too late! It's time for you to pay! If you're really sorry then you'll do this. It's time to duel!"

"Wait... So he's going to duel himself? But why?" Asked Tèa.

"This is the only way." Answered Ironheart.

"That's why we took you guys here. So the pharaoh can face his other half. He has to deal with what he did so he can put it behind him and move on." Said Chris.

"How do you know all this stuff?"

"We've always known this. We were taught that a warrior would come and save our world. And as soon as we found you guys we knew that he was the one."

"So what's he supposed to do now?"

"The first step is to face his inner fears so that he can conquer the darkness that lurks within his heart. But if he loses this battle, the pharaoh's spirit will remain here forever." Said Ironheart.

"Talk about pressure." Murmured Cecelia. As she watched them battle, she couldn't help trying to put herself in the Pharaoh's shoes. Would she have been able to do the same if Max were in Yugi's position? She liked to think she would. She watched with her mouth agape as Yugi delivered what seemed to be the final blow. Dark magician girl was hurdling toward the pharaoh's life points.

"I activate the trap card Divine wind!" Yelled Yami.

"He did it! We was able to reverse my attack and double its strength to win the duel!" Said Yugi.

"What have I done?! Yugi!" The pharaoh ran to him and caught him before he fell.

"Is he alright?" Asked Tèa.

"Yugi! Come on, speak to me, please!" Yugi looked up at him and smiled.

"You passed the test, pal."

"What are you talking about? Did you plan this all along?"

"It was the only way. By defeating me you were able to defeat the darkness that was inside your heart. It wasn't easy but you did what was best for me and for mankind. You acted like a true hero."

"But now what?"

"Don't give up this fight. Remember, I'm always with you." Yugi disappeared into dozens of circles of white light. The pharaoh stood up.

"I'll save you! No matter what it takes." He vowed.


	14. Battlefield

**"Never give up, and be confident in what you do. There may be tough times, but the difficulties which you face will make you more determined to achieve your objectives and to win against all the odds." -Marta  
**  
Cecelia was touched by the Pharaoh's determination to save his friend. It reminded her of her own relationship with Maximillion. Even so it was still a rather heartbreaking moment to watch. So much so that she pulled a silk handkerchief from her dress to dab at her eyes with. It was so beautiful. She watched as the Pharaoh got up shakily from the ground and stood on his own two feet. He looked exhausted- more so than she had thought at first- but she pushed it aside. He would be fine. All there was left to do was get back up the mountain.

"Seems like the pharaoh is in pretty bad shape down there." Said Tèa.

"Of course. There is a hole in his heart that has yet to be filled." Ironheart replied.

"Yugi... If it weren't for me you'd still be here." Said the pharaoh, dropping to his knees. "I'll never forgive myself. Mark my words: I won't rest until I get you back! It's not fair! I should be locked away- not you! I'm the one who played that evil card!"

"He's gotta snap out of this. If he keeps wallowing in the past we'll never find Yugi."

"Easier said than done, Tèa." Cecelia commented.

"Huh?"

"The Pharaoh did take a big step forward today, that's true, but being able to put the past in the past and stop blaming yourself is an entirely different animal. I was there when Max was taken, and if you think I stopped kicking myself for not intervening or stopping that duel you are sadly mistaken. I've had time to somewhat make peace with myself over it, but Yugi isn't nearly as lucky because this wound is still very fresh. This was his first step toward recovery, but changing his mindset of how he feels about this situation and himself is entirely up to him. As much as you want to, you cannot force him to move on. He must do it on his own time."

She nodded. "Hang in there." She whispered.

Suddenly, the sky was engulfed in darkness as lightning came down from the heavens and struck the earth. the earth beneath all of their feet began to quake and tremble.

"What's this?" Asked Yami.

"It's an earthquake!" Yelled Chris. Suddenly, a giant roar was heard.

No. I'm afraid it's much worse than that. Thought Ironheart.

"Show yourself!" The pharaoh demanded.

The earth split apart and darkness shot up from the ground like water from a spring.

"I thought so." Said Ironheart as the creature appeared.

"What is that thing?!" Asked Cecelia, recoiling in fear.

"Who are you? And what is this all about?!" Asked Yami. "Not much of a talker I see."

"Careful, pharaoh. This creature is more dangerous than you know!" Said Ironheart.

"You've seen this thing before?" Asked Tèa. Ghosts swirled around the pharaoh.

"Close your eyes and see the truth!" Their Disembodied voices called. Yami looked at them.

"Spirits! What is it you're trying to show me?!"

"The past." They hissed. Yami closed his eyes and saw the ancient war Rafael spoke of with his own eyes.

"What does this mean?" He asked himself.

"I once fought this very soldier and his army in the great battle to save Atlantis." Said Ironheart.

"Did you say Atlantis?" Tèa questioned. Ironheart nodded.

"This is the very spot where we made our last stand against the evil Lord Dartz. And now the battle continues."

"Be careful!" Yelled Tèa.

"What do you want?!" Cried Yami as the seal of Orichalcos came down from the sky. The soldier showed off his duel disk, and Yami was surprised. "He wants to duel."

The Orichalcos Guygus prepared to attack, but suddenly phantoms swirled around the Pharaoh.

"Fear not my pharaoh." They said, comfortingly.

"The lost spirits of Atlantis are here to protect you Pharoh! But they cannot act alone! Summon your monsters and the spirits will assist them!" Ironheart called.

"Very well then." Said Yami. And the duel began. "Together we'll take down this beast!"

"He's about to lose!" Cried Tèa.

"There is but one thing that can save him." Said Ironheart.

"The card he gave you?" Asked Chris. Ironheart nodded.

"The eye of Tamaeus. The creature that fought by my side so long ago." He said, then started down the mountain.

"Grandpa!" Chris cried.

Ironheart was already down the mountain when spirits came forth to challenge him.

"He'll never fight off those evil spirits alone!" Said Chris. "Come on, Skye!" She hopped onto the wolf and started to go after him.

"Chris, wait!" Called Tèa.

"I must protect the pharaoh or all is lost!" Said Ironheart. "Spirits be gone!" He yelled, tossing two cards at them. They transformed into monsters and beat the spirits.

"You know what to do Skye!" Said Chris, as they jumped through the spirits.

"Pharaoh, take this card!"

"Ironheart?!" He asked, shocked.

Suddenly a bolt of lightning struck him down in a flash of light.

"Grandfather!" Cried Chris.

"Please take this card from me. It's the only way to defeat that beast!" Ironheart said.

"I can't get out!" Yami yelled.

"Grandpa!" Said Chris, running to his side.

"It's up to you."

"What do you mean, gramps?"

"Take this and bring it to the pharaoh. Otherwise all hope is lost! Good luck!" With that, he disappeared into a thousand slivers of gold light.

"No, Grandpa!" Called Chris. "Come on, Skye!" She said, hopping on the wolf.

"No! Stay back!" Yami warned.

"Here I come!" She yelled. Suddenly the lightning that struck Ironheart down came back for a vengeance and took Chris too.

"Chris, are you alright?!" Yami yelled.

"Yeah, I think so!" Suddenly her wolf disappeared. "No! Skye's been captured!" Chris started running for Yami.

"No, Chris! Please turn back! It's far too dangerous!"

"Pharaoh! Grandpa wanted you to have this!" She yelled when suddenly she was struck down.

"No!"

"Pharaoh! Take this, please!" Asked Chris.

"What is it?"

"It's the only thing that can stop him. It saved us once and with your help it can save us again." She said, handing it to him.

"The eye of Tamaeus."

"I trust you, Pharaoh. Thank you." She said, before she disappeared.

"Hold on! Come back!"

He turned around and said a short prayer to Tamaeus before beginning his play.

"Now I sacrifice my Celtic Guardian in order to summon my Dark Magician Girl! And now I play the legendary eye of Tamaeus! Dark magician girl, fuse with Tamaeus, creating Dark Magician Girl The Dragon Knight! Next I'll enhance your strength with the Excalibur magic card! Attack! Destroy his creature of darkness!" And with a ball of light, they were gone. The light was so strong that Tristan and Joey were able to see it from far away, and they started running toward the light.

"Well done my creatures. He's gone now. Thanks to you two." Said Yami to his Dragon and Magician Girl. "But I feel this is just the beginning." He said as they dissipated into thin air.

"Wait, that's a carving of Ironheart, Chris, and Skye from ten thousand years ago?!" Asked Tèa.

"Yes."

"Wow." Said Cecelia, eyes wide.

"So you mean to tell me that those guys were just ghosts or something?"

"They're spirits who once fought a Great War. And now they've been captured by Dartz." Said the pharaoh, somberly. "This gives me three more reasons to hunt down this madman and bring peace to the world once again."


	15. Crash

**Author's Note: Happy Thanksgiving everyone! I hope you all have a great day, and that you know I'm thankful for all of my readers!**

 **"Sometimes life hits you in the head with a brick. Don't lose faith." -Steve Jobs  
**  
Yami, Tèa, and Cecelia all scaled the mountain to get back to the train track. Yami got up first.

"Here, take my hand." He said, pulling Tèa up. They both helped Cecelia onto the mountain, and they all stood up. "We're back where we left off."

"Nice! Now all we have to do is follow those tracks." Said Tèa.

"That's right. If all goes well they should lead us straight to Tristan and Joey. Assuming that they haven't wandered off."

"They better be there. We have to do what we set out to do. Figure out where this Dartz creep hangs out so we can set free everyone he captured."

"Yes. I only wish it were that easy." Murmured Yami with a nod. The three of them got on the train tracks and started walking. They walked down the tracks for what seemed like hours. The trek was hardest on Cecelia, who was struggling with back pain and nausea from being so high up. A few times they had to stop so that she could get sick. Tèa was kind enough to hold back her hair. But other than that, the trip was almost uninterrupted. Suddenly, in the middle of the forest, Yami's deck started to glow.

"What's this?" He asked aloud. Then he looked up. "Tèa, look at that!"

"Check it out! Those dragons just saved that airplane!"

"Now there's something you don't see everyday." Said a familiar voice.

"Joey! Tristan!" Called Tèa.

"It's Tèa!" Said Joey, hauling Rex Raptor on his back.

"And Yugi!" Tristan added.

"And Mrs. Cecelia." Added Croquet. They all went down to see the damage.

"Wait a sec- that's one of Kaiba's planes!" Said Tèa.

"Hey you're right!" Said Tristan.

"I hope everyone's okay." She said.

"Me too." Added Cecelia.

The door opened, and there stood Kaiba carrying Alister.

"Kaiba." Said Yami in shock.

"Oh, great. If it isn't the dweeb patrol."

"What happened up there?" Asked Tèa.

"Roland!" Exclaimed Mokuba as he poked his head out the door and looked at the fleet of helicopters flying toward them.

"So you dueled this guy on top of a moving plane?!" Joey said, surprised.

"Maybe I did." Kaiba said reluctantly. "Don't you geeks have someone else to annoy?"

"Kaiba, we can't do this without you and you know it. So please, accept your destiny and help us to stop this evil." Asked Yami.

"Hm. If I had a dime for every time you used the word destiny I'd be even richer." He dead panned. Everyone sighed.

"Mr. Kaiba! Mokuba! Are you hurt?!" Yelled Roland as the helicopter landed.

"We're fine." Said Mokuba.

"Good. But I've got terrible news!" He said, and then told them that Kaiba Corp had been taken over. They all boarded the helicopter and tried to get talking.

"So now our whole company is owned by this Dartz guy? I don't get it, Seto. How was one person able to buy every share of Kaiba Corp without you and I knowing about it? Our network should have detected it." Said Mokuba.

"There's only one way that I can think of: They must have hacked into our accounts."

"Without you knowing it? How'd they get past your security system?" Asked Tèa.

"We're obviously dealing with a powerful organization here."

"But sir-" began Roland, but Kaiba cut him off.

"Save it. I'm not your boss anymore."

"Seto..." Whispered Mokuba.

"I won't abandon you sir. I'll stand by your side until Kaiba Corp is yours again." Said one of their security officials.

"That goes for me too!" Roland added.

"See, Seto? We're all with ya!" Said Mokuba.

"Then what are we waiting for?"

"Let's go. We've got to get to the museum and decipher those ruins!" Yami declared.

"My research team is already there. And my security force will handle any unexpected guests."

They all nodded, and Kaiba pulled out his laptop.

Meanwhile, towards the back of the plane, Cecelia sat quietly in her seat. She was exhausted, but couldn't sleep. She was starving, but couldn't eat. Her skin was pale as an over washed sheet, and she couldn't bring herself to focus on anything in particular. Maximillion lay in her lap, and she thought about the last time they had seen each other. His smile, his voice, his stance. Each trait made her melt a little inside. But the one thing that kept replaying over and over again was how much she missed him. She could have broken down and cried right there, but refused to break. He needed her to be strong for the both of them right now. She was so engrossed in her thoughts, she didn't notice someone calling her name.

"Cecelia?" Asked Tèa. When she finally looked up she smiled apologetically.

"Yes?"

"Are you alright?" She asked. Cecelia smiled.

"Of course. Why wouldn't I be?"

"You seem a little distracted. Everything okay?"

"I'm fine, really. Just a little nauseous, that's all."

"Can I get you anything, Mrs. Cecelia?"

"No thank you, Croquet. There's not much that can be done, I'm afraid." She said with a sigh.

"Very well." He said.

Mokuba had been watching her for some time and wondered who she was. He wanted to find out, but saw Pegasus in her lap and was too afraid of him to go. Luckily, his brother got an answer for him.

"So, who's the latest addition to the nerd heard?" He asked. She smiled at him.

"I'm Cecelia. It's nice to meet you." She said, fighting the internal urge to claw his eyes out with her nails at his chauvinistic attitude. Mokuba was a little less afraid of her now.

"Yeah. Whatever." Said Kaiba as he waited for his computer to boot up.

Mokuba looked at their newest guest curiously. Who was she, and what had driven Yugi and his friends to take her along with them? And most importantly, what was her connection to Pegasus? As the helicopter kept heading toward it's destination, he had a feeling that he would find out soon enough.


	16. The Chase

**Author's Note: So I'm sure you've all noticed that for all the transcribing from the show I've been doing, I haven't done any duels. Aside from the obvious reason that they were too much for me to transcribe, there was another reason why I didn't, and you'll see why in this and the next chapter. I hope you all love this chapter!**

 **"Men are more ready to repay an injury than a benefit because gratitude is a burden and revenge a pleasure." -Tacitus**

They were on their way to in the helicopter when suddenly a beeping was heard.

"Mr. Kaiba, emergency message on the red line!" Said the pilot.

"This could be just what I'm waiting for!" Said Kaiba, opening the laptop.

"Sir! We're ready to upload the images of the undersea ruins!"

"So that was your plan." Joey realized.

"You made sure your team got there before Dartz." Yami said.

"What did you expect? Come on, guys. You know my brother is always one step ahead of everyone else." Said Mokuba, proudly.

"Receiving data." Said Kaiba.

They all gathered round to look at the screen.

They could hear sounds of distress coming from whoever was running the other computer.

"It's them." Yami said sadly.

"Oh well. At least we got what we needed." Said Seto. They pulled up Rebecca on the laptop.

"I've got the images and my grandpa's looking them over now." She said.

"Good. Let's meet up as soon as possible. Oh, and one more thing- I'm sorry." Yami apologized.

"Rebecca, you can't blame the Pharaoh for what happened to Yugi. There's far too much at stake for hard feelings. Right now we're all fighting a common enemy, and this data may be our only hope!" Professor Hawkins said gently. Rebecca looked at him.

"You're right."

"Pharaoh, the quality of the images is much worse than I thought. Most of the carvings have been worn away. Unless we clear up these photos I won't be able to read much at all."

"Set a course for Kaiba Corporation headquarters immediately!" Kaiba ordered.

"Dude, are you nuts?!" Demanded Tristan.

"Dartz and his gang must have taken over the place by now!" Added Tèa.

"The only way we can process these images fast enough is by using my computer system so we have no choice!"

"Say what?!" Joey said, surprised.

"Kaiba has a good point, Joey." Said Yami.

"He does?"

"First they took Pegasus away," he said, glancing at Cecelia who was watching them sadly, "And now they've taken over Kaiba's company, which means we've got to stop these criminals before they make their next move- and we have no time to lose!"

"Wow, you're more gung ho than I expected. You know, since you lost your title and all." Said Kaiba snidely.

"Kaiba, this fight is about so much more than a mere championship title. Don't you see? People are getting hurt and the whole world's in danger!"

"Blah blah blah. Don't you get tired of making the same speech every time you're faced with a challenge? Stop saving the world and get a hobby!"

"Rebecca, we'll meet you two at the pier." Said Yami.

"Ten four. We'll see you there!" She said.

When the helicopter finally landed, Duke, Rebecca, and Professor Hawkins were waiting for them.

Everyone ran out in a hurry- all but Cecelia and Croquet, who were carrying Pegasus.

"Take those two to the medical center. I'm feeling generous." Said Kaiba.

"Right!" Said his henchmen.

He glanced at Cecelia. "I'd suggest putting him down if you want him to get treated." Said Kaiba.

"No one is taking him anywhere." She said sharply.

"Have it your way." He said dismissively.

The helicopter took off.

"Good luck guys." Mokuba whispered.

"Stay safe." Joey added.

"Professor. I'm glad you're alright." Said Yami.

"Me too. So how was the road trip, guys?" Asked Joey.

"Could have been better. We hit a pretty big snag on the way." Said Duke.

"Flat tire?"

"We ran into Mai and one of those freaks! The one that jumped in and ended your duel."

"That jerk!"

"He's really got it in for you, man. And I'm afraid Mai's still on their side, too."

"Just wait till I find 'em!" Joey thundered, closing his hand into a fist.

"Hey, any word yet on Yugi? We have to find him. If we don't get him back I'll never forgive you. Plus, we need him to fight these guys!" Exclaimed Rebecca.

"I miss him too." Said Yami. "And I promise we will rescue him. You have my word. But I must pay a visit to Kaiba Corp first."

"Then let me come with you. You'll need some tech support!"

"Ha! This isn't some kind of field trip, kid." Said Kaiba. "But I guess you can tag along if you want."

"I'm no kid!"

"Whatever you say, kid. I don't know about you geeks, but I have a company to save, so whoever's coming with me, let's move!"

"Good luck, and be careful." Said Tèa.

"Right." Said Yami before chasing after Kaiba.

"Alright Tèa, we better go tell the police what's going on. The way this is heading we're going to need all the help we can get!" Said Tristan.

"Yeah, good point." Said Tèa, as they took off. The rest of the group went down into the sewer where Rebecca was working on solving the code.

"Nice work, Rebecca!" Said Duke.

"Yeah, I don't know how you did it, but you hacked into Kaiba Corp's security system!" Said Joey.

"Good thing I "tagged along" on Kaiba's "Field Trip"!" She said.

"So you're undoing what those guys did? That should slow them down."

"Yup. That's the basic idea. Kaiba, when this mess is finally over, let me know if you want me to upgrade your system!"

Cecelia stood alongside Croquet and listened as they learned of the company Paradeus.

"I just lost my link!" Rebecca cried.

"Quick, Rebecca! Where's the headquarters of this Paradeus?"

"Well let's see... Got it!"

"Here I come you creeps! Said Joey, climbing up the ladder.

"Get back here Joey! Come on man, we need a plan first!" Said Duke.

"I'll go after him. You all stay here." Volunteered Cecelia. She noticed the duel disk Max had on his arm and decided to take it with her as a precautionary measure. She pulled out her own dueling deck from under her dress. Max had given her her own deck over their honeymoon as one of many gifts. Every monster, spell, and trap had reminded him of her. His heart was in this deck, so she carried it with her everywhere. She loaded the duel disk with her deck and got onto the first rung of the ladder.

"There's no way you can-" Duke began, but her glare cut him off.

"I'll be fine. Take care of Max for me, Croquet." He nodded and she climbed up the ladder and ran after Joey. He already had several feet on her. There came a point where he passed Tristan and Tèa. Tristan joined in her chase, but they lost him- so they split up to cover more ground. It was Cecelia who eventually found him. Right after his soul had been taken. She saw who was holding him and stopped dead in her tracks.

"YOU!" She shrieked angrily. Mai looked up at her. "You did that to my husband and now you have the nerve to do that to one of my friends?! I've absolutely had enough of you! Get out your deck, because it's time to duel!"


	17. Duel Of Redemption

**Author's Note: This was a super personal chapter for me because I run a Harpie/Melodious deck and I wanted to bring my deck to all of you. So I really and truly hope you enjoy this duel!**

 **"No one mourns the wicked  
No one cries "They won't return!"  
No one lays a lily on their grave  
The good man scorns the wicked!  
Through their lives, our children learn  
What we miss, when we misbehave:  
And Goodness knows  
The wicked's lives are lonely  
Goodness knows  
The wicked die alone  
It just shows when you're wicked  
You're left only  
On your own  
Yes, Goodness knows  
The wicked's lives are lonely  
Goodness knows  
The wicked cry alone  
Nothing grows for the wicked  
They reap only  
What they've sown." -"No One Mourns The Wicked" From the musical "Wicked"**

Mai stared at Cecelia for a moment, speechless, before she started laughing.

"Why on earth would I want to duel a nobody like you?"

"Because if you back down everyone will know that you were afraid to lose to me."

"I'm not afraid of anything!" She barked.

"Then prove it."

"Alright, fine! You want yourself a duel, you got one!" She said, standing up. Cecelia smiled.

"Good. Get ready to lose." She said, turning on her duel disk.

"I'll start things off!" Said Mai. "I play Harpie Lady in attack mode! Then I'll lay two cards face down and end my turn. Your move, honey."

"Good." She said, smirking. "First I'll play card destruction, so we both have to draw a new hand. Now, I'll play the magic card first movement solo, which allows me to play any Fantasia monster in my deck! And I play Aria The Melodious Diva in attack mode! And because I special summoned her, she can't be destroyed by card effects or in battle! And now that I have a melodious monster on the field I can special summon Sonata the Melodious Diva! And her special effect adds 500 attack and defense points to every fairy type monster I have! And now I play the trap card heavy storm to clear the field of your trap and Magic cards! Now that that's settled, Sonata, attack her Harpie Lady!"

Sonata attacked, and Mai lost 400 life points.

"Now Aria, it's your turn! attack her life points directly!"

Her life points went down by another 2100.

"Now do you understand the force you're dealing with?" She said coldly. "I'll stop at nothing to take you down. I play one more card face down and I end my turn for now.

"Good! Now I can put you in your place!" She said, smiling as she looked at the card she drew. "Now I summon my Cyber Harpie in defense mode! And now I play the instrument of your destruction! Behold the awesome power of the seal of Orichalcos!"

The seal came down from the sky, but Cecelia was not afraid.

"Thanks to the seal of Orichalcos my Harpie gains an extra 500 attack points, bringing her power up to 2300! Then I'll play one card face down and end my turn."

"Good. It's my turn now." Said Cecelia as she drew a card. "Now, I play call of the haunted and bring forth Mozarta The Melodious Maestra from my graveyard! And her special ability lets me summon another melodious monster from my hand! So I bring forth Sophina The Melodious Maestra! And thanks to Sonata, they each gain 500 attack and defense points. Which brings Sophina's attack to 2800, and Mozarta's to 3100! You will not stand all I have set against you!" Cecelia cried. "Now Sophina, attack!"

"I activate Cyber Shield!" Cried Mai. It made her Harpie's attack equal to Sophina's, so they were both destroyed.

"Your Harpie won't stand against my Monster! Mozarta, attack!" With that, her Harpie was destroyed, and her life points were brought down to 1200.

"How does it feel?" She asked, looking Mai straight in the eye. "It's terrifying, Isn't it? Being unable to defend yourself. To know that there's nothing else you can do to save yourself. To know that you're about to lose everything. That's exactly what you made my husband felt when you took him away." She hissed.

It was then that Tristan and the others arrived.

"Oh man! Is that Cecelia and Mai?!" Tristan exclaimed.

"It is..." Whispered Tèa.

"We have to do something!" Said Yami.

"What can we do?" Asked Mokuba.

"Nothing but watch." Said Kaiba.

"You have nothing but blackness in your heart. It's as dark and soulless as you'll soon be. You took my husband away from me! You took a father away from his unborn child! And now you will reap exactly what you've sown! So in the name of my husband, Maximillion Pegasus, Aria, attack her now!"

With one swift blow, her life points were completely drained.

"You made the choices that brought you here today. And now you must suffer the consequences." Said Cecelia snidely, staring at her frostily. She watched the seal advance on her, and watched the fear in her eyes as her soul was drained away. "Good riddance." She said and turned to where Joey's body lay leaning against the fence. She didn't notice that everyone else had arrived until they called her name.

"Cecelia! Are you alright?!" Called Yami.

"I'm fine. I can't say the same for Joey, though..." She replied.

They all followed her gaze to where Joey lay.

"Joey! Oh man!" Said Tristan.

"What happened to him?!" Asked Tèa.

" _She_ happened." Said Cecelia, voice dripping with contempt as she shot Mai a dirty glare.

"Mai did this?" Said Mokuba, surprised.

"Yes. Just like she did to my Maximillion." She said bitterly. "She finally got what was coming to her. I'm just glad I was the one who got to do her in. Now maybe I can find a little peace inside."

"We're happy for you, but we're just sad for Mai. She used to be our friend." Said Tèa.

"Some friend she is. She stole Joey's soul. What kind of a friend does that?!"

"Not a very good one." Murmured Tristan. Cecelia sighed quietly.

"It doesn't matter now. She's a thing of the past. We have much bigger fish to fry- like finding Dartz and freeing the souls he captured."

"You're right." Said Yami. "We must put the past in the past so that we can save the future. Let's go and find Dartz before it's too late!"

"Right." Said Tèa.

"Let's do it." Said Tristan.

"What have we got to lose?" Mokuba questioned.

"Let's just get this over with so that I can get my company back." Said Kaiba.

"Very well. Let's proceed." Said Cecelia.

So Tristan carried Joey on his back, and they all made their way into the alley and disappeared together into the night.

 **Author's note: as you can see Cecelia Is mostly very polite, but when it comes to her husband, she has no mercy. Sort of a "do no harm take no shit" attitude. I hope you liked it!**

 **Please review!**


	18. Guardian Duel

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you liked Cecelia's duel. It was so fun to write! I hope you love this chapter!**

 **"You have to fight to reach your dream. You have to sacrifice and work hard for it." -Lionel Messi**

Although they all started out together, Kaiba and Mokuba broke off from the group after a while when some of the monsters went after them. The Pharaoh ended up running ahead of them toward Paradeus headquarters. With Tristan Carrying Joey, and Croquet carrying Pegasus, they were easily slowed down. That left Tèa and Cecelia as the only ones who could catch up to him. So Tèa ran after him while Cecelia stayed with the rest of the group. It took them a good fifteen minutes to follow Tèa's trail, and they did run into the Kaiba brothers again on the way, But they still got lost after following her as far as they could see. Fortunately for them, they were only lost for a short time. Unfortunately for them, they were deterred by a pack of rats attacking them. However, it did take them straight to Paradeus. When they eventually got there, the dark black building loomed over them. But each of them swallowed their fears and entered the building.

When they entered the lobby, the marble tile floors and empty room created an eerie echo. There was an elevator that was on the roof, so they all piled in and went up there. When they arrived, the seal of Orichalcos had just been played. Everyone filed out to the roof, murmuring to one another about the duel. But Cecelia was uninterested in that. She already knew that the Pharaoh would win. If her husband had chosen him to protect her, he was guaranteed to achieve victory. She felt the dark hole inside of her heart that was made by her husband's absence beginning to ache inside her. So she moved over to where Croquet was and held Pegasus' hand in her own.

Mokuba, who's attention had been on the duel, noticed her movement from out of the corner of his eye, turned to look at her. He saw the way Cecelia looked at her husband- there was such tenderness and love in her gaze, it truly surprised him. He couldn't believe Pegasus was married- and especially to someone so nice. Considering his own experiences with Pegasus, he didn't think that madman was capable of love. But it was made brilliantly clear by the look on her face that she loved him dearly. If he married someone like that, maybe he wasn't so bad after all.

But that still didn't make him any less creepy.

But all of them stared at the duel taking place before them.

"This duel is far from over, Rafael!" Said Yami. "I know firsthand what the Orichalcos does to a person's heart. And I can help you! Think... When Eatos was destroyed... You unleashed your anger on your other monsters. You let the Orichalcos feed on your rage... Like I did."

"So? What's your point?"

"That this isn't who you really are! The darkness within you has taken control; and now you must face that darkness head-on! It's the only way for you to save yourself."

"Heh, you need to be saved!"

"If you don't believe my words, then maybe this will convince you." He said, holding up a card.

"What're you holding?"

"A card that forces you to take a closer look at yourself- "Underworld Circle"!"

"What on earth does that do?"

"Behold! It's time for you to take some responsibility for what you've done, Rafael! "Underworld Circle"! Activate!"

They all watched as Dark Magician Girl evaporated, then Guardian Dreadscythe did the same. Rafael took a step back, horrified.

"My monster's gone!"

"Yes, and so is mine. Now- witness your true darkness!"

The bubble around them became a shade of dark indigo.

"I don't like the looks of that." Said Tristan.

"Ditto." Murmured Tèa.

"We can't even see what's going on now." Mokuba completed.

"Let's just hope when the smoke clears, it's the Pharaoh that's standing!" Said Tèa.

For a long time, nothing happened, when suddenly Tristan called out: "Check it out! The smoke cleared."

"Is the Pharaoh all right?" Asked Tèa.

And he was.

The battle continued until Rafael was left with almost nothing left.

"Now do you understand what you've done?" Asked Yami. "You turned your back on your monsters. At one time, they meant the world to you. But then Dartz convinced you to abandon everything that was important to you; he fed you lies about your family, and fueled your rage. And in a moment of weakness you allowed your heart to become consumed by the dark magic of the Orichalcos. But I could tell the real you was still in there fighting to break free, and I knew what I had to do- force you to face the darkness."

"There's only one problem with your plan, Pharaoh. The Seal of Orichalcos still needs to capture one of our souls. So whaddaya say we finish this off, and see who goes?"

"No- wait!"

"Too late! My move! I'll use the power of Underworld Circle to bring back my Guardian Grarl!"

"What're you planning to do?"

"Ugh. Next I'll activate my "Soul Charge" magic card... allowing me to summon even more monsters from my graveyard!"

"Whoa, that's four monsters!" Said Tristan.

"Look; any monster that's summoned by using Soul Charge can't attack for one turn, so he's safe." Snapped Kaiba.

"Then why do it? What's his plan?" Asked Mokuba.

"Well, that's it; my graveyard is completely empty. My Guardians are free." Said Rafael.

"That's true... now what?" Asked Yami.

"I think you know, Pharaoh; each monster I brought back from the grave cost me five hundred points." The last of Rafael's lifepoints depleted, leaving him with zero. "Game over."

The Seal of Orichalcos closed in around him. Yami started running toward him. "Rafael!"

Yami stopped suddenly, looking up; above them, the dark night sky brightened with celestial mystery. Guardian Eatos, attended by shining stars, descended from the clouds; her eyes downcast with sympathy.

"It's Eatos..." Said Yami.

Rafael, his head bowed, noticed the bright light and looked up. Eatos settled down between Backup Gardna and Guardian Elma with a benign smile, taking her place among the monsters of His deck, the green light of the Orichalcos at their back. The seal slowly vanished from the faces of Rafael's monsters as they smiled at him, the red glare fading from their eyes.

"You've made the correct choice, Rafael. The darkness has lifted."

Rafael smiled at him. "You're right- thank you."

Normally, the seal would have taken him away, but instead it left him be. Suddenly the ground began to shake.

"What's going on?!" Cried Tèa.

"Oh, no!" Cried Kaiba.

"Oh, yes." Said Yami sadly.

"What?! I-is it an earthquake?" Asked Tristan.

"I'm afraid it's much worse than that!" Said Yami.


	19. Escape

p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"strong"I don't think we're crumbling as a civilization, but this is not our finest hour, and it's good to be mindful that we're all susceptible to fall and to look at what are the earmarks of a civilization on the wane." -Mel Gibson/strong/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""The building's collapsing!" Shrieked Tèa./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Mokuba jumped back. "Ah..! Oh no!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Get outta here, while you can! You don't have much time!" Yelled Rafael./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""He's right, guys!" Tristan agreed./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"A crack opened and spread on the roof where they stood. Mokuba turned just in time to see it separate them from the rest of the rooftop./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We're too late!" He cried./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"A satellite dish fell down, the stone underneath it crumbling. The doors of the elevator that got them all to the roof were bent as the stone caved in around the elevator./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""There goes our ride down!" Said Tèa./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Oh, great! We're stranded!" Moaned Tristan./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Mokuba edged back as another chunk of the roof they stood on gave way./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Mister Kaiba! Up here!" Called a familiar voice./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Look- it's Roland!" Said Mokuba./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We're saved!" Said Tristan, relieved/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The helicopter landed on a steel-supported platform nearby./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Mokuba started toward the copter. "C'mon- follow me!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Let's go, dorks! Move!" Barked Kaiba./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The building continued to crumble rapidly, entire sections of it collapsing on itself. They reached the helicopter; Mokuba leading the way toward the back ramp while Kaiba joined Roland. Meanwhile, Yami and Rafael were still on the stairs to the platform, Yami supporting the latter on his shoulder, trying to get him out./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We're almost out! Hang in there!" He yelled./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'll try..." He replied weakly./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Téa halted on the ramp with Cecelia, letting Croquet (Who was carrying Pegasus) and Tristan pass her by, who was still carrying Joey on his back./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Ready?" Asked Roland./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Hold on- the Pharaoh's still out there!" Said Tèa./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The pavement below the stairs began to crack rapidly, and the stairs themselves began to crumple and warp, separating from the landing above./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Pharaoh!" Chorused Tèa and Tristan./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We've gotta go back for them!" Tèa cried./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"A crack opened up under Roland's feet and widened; he jumped away from it skittishly./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We have to leave now, Mister Kaiba!" He yelled. Kaiba didn't reply./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Say what?!" Asked Tèa./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Rafael grimly looked up at the platform ahead, then at Yami. Before Yami could react, he shifted the arm leaning on Yami's shoulder to pick him up and throw him up onto the ledge above./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What're you doing?!" Yami demanded. But he was slipping away./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Rafael- no!" Yelled Yami/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The staircase collapsed on itself. Rafael, had grabbed onto a supporting beam below the platform with one arm, dangling from the edge over a much longer drop; the roof now entirely gone, revealing what was underneath./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Hang on! I won't leave without you!" Yelled Yami./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Rafael rummaged in his coat, found a small chip, looks at it, then threw it to Yami./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Take this!" Yami caught the chip, and looked at it. "Don't lose it! You'll need it if you're planning to take out Dartz."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What is it?" He asked./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Roland looked more and more scared at the size of the cracks appearing underneath the helicopter./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Whoa-oa-oa-oa! Sir- please- we have to go!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Roland ran inside the helicopter to get it going, and the blades started whirring; the helicopter slowly began to lift off, Téa and Tristan still on the ramp. Kaiba was still standing right outside the side door, his hair getting mussed by the wind./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Mister Kaiba- quickly!" Called Roland./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"With one last look back, Kaiba easily jumped onto the steps. Yami reached over the edge of the building toward Rafael./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Take my hand!" Yami cried./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Go, while you can!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The piece of concrete Rafael was holding onto broke off, and he fell/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Rafael!" Cried Yami./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Yami stood there a moment, stunned. The helicopter hovered over to him, the ramp open for him to jump onto./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Let's go, man!" Tristan said, holding the door open alongside Tèa./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We're right here, jump!" She yelled./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""And do it fast!" Tristan Added./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"He paused a moment longer, then his expression turned to one of resolve; he took the jump, and easily made it, gripping Téa's hand. The concrete he just jumped from crumbled as soon as he left it. The helicopter flew free, leaving the crumbling building behind. Yami spared one last solemn look back./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Rafael..." He whispered./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"The helicopter flew away as the modern skyscraper transformed itself into a much more ancient looking building./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Check it out- it's some kind of ancient temple or something!" Observed Tèa./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I guess that's what Paradeusbr /Headquarters really looks like!" Said Tristan./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I can't say I'm surprised; I think there's more to Dartz than meets the eye as well." Said Yami. He looked at the chip Rafael gave him before handing it to Kaiba./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Kaiba- have a look at this."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""What's that?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""It's some kind of computer chip. Rafael gave it to me."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Well? Anything?" Tèa asked as he put the chip in his phone./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Huh? It looks like a map!" Kaiba declared./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""To where?" Mokuba questioned./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""To Dartz's lair." Yami replied./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Roland!" Called Kaiba./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Roland leaned over to look over his shoulder from the cockpit./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Sir?/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Follow this map!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Roland jumped out of his seat and fumbled to catch phone thrown by his boss./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""R-right away, sir..."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"Just then, another few helicopters swooped up behind them. Everyone turned to look at them./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We've got company!" Murmured Mokuba./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Great- does Dartz have his own Air Force?!" Grumbled Tristan./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"One of the other pilots gestured to them, pointing ahead./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I think he wants us to follow them!" Said Mokuba. Tristan sighed./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Like we have a choice?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They followed them./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Mister Kaiba, it appears they've led us to a government air force base." Said Roland./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"They all got out when they landed, talking to two officers in uniform./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Just so we're clear on this- you're good guys, right?" Asked Tristan suspiciously./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""We'd like to think so. After all, it is our duty to protect and serve the public. In fact, we tracked you kids down because we need your help dealing with a worldwide threat. Crazy as it sounds, we think our only hope may lie in a card game." Said the Captain./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""You're right. Someone is using the game of Duel Monsters to wipe us out." Replied the Pharaoh./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Now you understand why we need you. Who better to stop this menace than the Duel Monsters experts?"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I see. So if I'm not mistaken, you're asking us to do your job." Said Kaiba./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""The fact is, we've been following Dartz around for months; but he leaves no evidence behind! And with no proof, my men and I can't do a thing. I'm telling you- this is no ordinary criminal! And without you, we have nowhere else to turn!"/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"So the captain took them as far as he could on the ocean./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm afraid this is as far as we're permitted to go. The rest... is up to you. Good luck out there- and thank you. You're doing a great service."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""I'm doing this to save my company." Said Kaiba stoically./p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""That may be, but if you beat this Dartz character at his own game... you'll be saving a lot more than just your company."/p  
p style="max-height: 999999px; font-family: Arial, Verdana, sans-serif; font-size: 14px;""Hmph. Roland- let's move out!"/p 


	20. Battle Ready

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: Thank you so much for your review! I'm so glad you're liking the story so far! I hope you love this chapter!**

 **"A constant struggle, a ceaseless battle to bring success from inhospitable surroundings, is the price of all great achievements." -Orison Swett Marden**

Inside the helicopter, everyone crowded into the doorway to watch through the windshield. Roland's mouth hung open at the sight of the sky ahead as he kept piloting. Mokuba stood at the doorway to the back, looking worried, Téa halfway behind the doorframe. Yami and Kaiba were both poker-faced. Cecelia stood behind them with an inscrutable expression. Tristan, standing behind her, was less resolute.

"Just stay calm. I'm sure Dartz wants us to reach him." Said Yami.

"Ah..! Hey look!" Said Mokuba. Just barely visible up ahead was Dartz's temple in the middle of the sea, amid the raging whirlwinds and waterspouts. "That must be the place!"

"There's no turning back, now." Murmured Yami.

"Let's go." Said Kaiba.

Dartz's temple awaited them, The helicopter set down outside it, with Roland and Fugata standing off to the side. Mokuba stood near them, Tristan and Téa on the other side of the helicopter, Cecelia and Croquet next to them, and Yami and Kaiba at the center of the group. Cecelia had decided to leave her husband's body in the helicopter for now. She didn't want him anywhere near this madman until he could be defeated.

"We've arrived at the heart of evil." Said Yami.

Kaiba started walking, Yami following, and Mokuba ran after his brother.

"D'you always have to be so dramatic?" Asked Kaiba, annoyed.

Inside the temple, the torches along the main aisle to the altar were lit, illuminating the giant stone snakes that twined around the columns. Yami, Kaiba, Mokuba, Tristan, and Téa walked past them.

"Man! And I thought Pegasus had a creepy pad!" Exclaimed Tristan.

"Yeah..." Said Mokuba.

Tèa elbowed them in the ribs, and they remembered that Cecelia was right there. "Er... No offense."

"None taken." She said with a smile.

"I'm not a big fan of the whole 'snake' motif." Said Tèa. Cecelia nodded in agreement.

Soon they stood before the altar of three stone snake heads with open mouths.

"Enough; can't you wait outside?" Asked Kaiba irritably.

"Listen; we must all stick together. The seven of us are strongest as a team."

But Something seemed to be watching them from the gullet of one of the altar snakes.

Yami and Kaiba lead the group deeper into the temple, past smaller twining snake columns, until they reached a room covered from floor to ceiling with stone portraits.

"Dude- what's with all these people chiseled in stone?!" Asked Tristan.

"They're not just any people!" Cried Tèa, pointing to the far wall, which was the only wall with lit torches placed near it. "Take a look!"

Among the portraits on the wall were Weevil, Alister, Valon, Rex, Mai, and Joey.

"Oh no! There's Mai! And Weevil!" Said Yami, shocked.

"This must be everyone who lost their soul!" Concluded Tristan.

As they looked further on the wall, Cecelia's hand flew over her mouth when her eyes caught sight of one of the portraits.

"Max..." She whispered. "Oh Max, what have they done to you?!" She started moving toward his portrait unconsciously, just as Yami caught sight of another familiar face on the wall.

"Yugi!"

Yami started to run across the room, his friends close behind, but stopped short when they heard an eerily familiar voice.

"What a touching reunion. Too bad your friends turned out to be a bunch of stiffs." He laughed.

Between the two flaming torches, a third fire lit, growing quickly, and formed into Dartz himself, wearing his robes, in all of his sinister glory.

"Dartz!" Cried the pharaoh.

"You were expecting someone else? Well, due to the carelessness of my employees, I'm the only one left. You can't find good help these days."

"Look, I want my company back, so can the small-talk." Kaiba demanded.

"Is that so. Well guess what, we all want something. As for me, I want your souls for my wall. I even have the spot picked out."

The two portraits next to Yugi's and above Weevil's and Alister's turned blank, emptied of their previous occupants.

"Save it, Dartz. It'll take a lot more than a few party tricks to scare me!" Kaiba stated.

"Now, for the last time, release our friends!" Cried Yami.

"That's not possible."

"What do you mean?!"

"I mean, they've already been put to use. As we speak, their life energy supplies power to the most devastating creature that ever lived!

"Oh, great; now what?" Asked Tèa to no one in particular.

"My ten-thousand-year-old collection is almost complete." Said Dartz. "Once I get you two, the beast can rise!"

"Hold on! You've been collecting souls for all those years?! Do you know how many lives you've destroyed?!" Asked Yami.

Dartz laughed. "Millions! And each one of them deserved their fate! Take a moment and look around, won't you?"

He beckoned with one hand, and the torches set around the spacious room lit up one by one, revealing the hundreds and hundreds of trapped souls on the wall.

"Some of my favorite conquests are in this very room." He continued. "And since it's taken me ten millennia to complete, it's quite the history lesson."

They looked around and saw a portrait who wears full-body plate armor, beside another trapped soul who wears a military uniform reminiscent of the American Civil War.

"He's right; look at the outfits on these guys!" Said Tèa.

Mokuba looked at a woman on the floor in a draped gown.

"So some of these people lived in the past?!"

"Now you're catching on. Ever since the Great Leviathan was laid to rest, I've been gathering the energy necessary to fuel its rebirth!"

"Come on. You expect us to believe that junk?" Kaiba said, unimpressed.

"Ye of little faith. Just duel me, and I promise I'll make a believer out of you." Dartz walked forward into the room brandishing his left arm and an Orichalcos duel disk appeared on it. "For when you lose, there will be no denying my power!"

"Then let's stop talking and start dueling!"

"You can't, Kaiba- not alone. This lunatic is far too dangerous." Said Yami.

"So why don't you join him?" Said Dartz, activating his duel disk. "And when I defeat you, I'll get two souls for the price of one!" He laughed.

Kaiba and Yami responded with fierce, bitter glares- each one good and ready to wipe that smile off of his face- and activated their duel disks simultaneously.

"Alright- ready, Kaiba?" Asked Yami.

"I'm way ahead of you."

In perfect synchronization, they put their decks in the designated slot.

It was time to duel.


	21. Used

**"Sever the ties that hold you down  
Spread out your wings and leave the ground  
Take off your regrets  
We aren't the rejects  
This is revolution now  
We're fighting, we're fighting for the truth  
(To fight the lies within the shadows)  
Warriors with everything to prove  
(To see a new tomorrow)" -"Mirrors" by Aviators**

When the duel first started, Cecelia was only listening with vague interest. She knew this battle was important, and she was all for cheering on her friend, but she couldn't bring herself to tear her eyes away from her husband's face and body being carved into Dartz's wall of souls. It was the cruelest torture imaginable to have him so close and yet so far away. She was distracted for a moment by one of the attacks, and when she looked back she couldn't seem to find his soul anywhere on the wall. Her body tried to force her into panic mode, but she forced herself to stay calm for the sake of her baby. She watched the duel instead, as the seal of Orichalcos was played, and then reinforced with it's second layer, and watched as Yugi and Kaiba's master of dragon knight soldier was quickly defused from each other.

"Talk about luck of the draw." Said Dartz.

"It's not luck. It's through teamwork and determination that we have avoided your attacks." Said Yami.

"You have a little speech for everything, don't you, Pharaoh? You must get so tired of being right all the time. Well don't worry, 'cause that all ends here. So listen closely as I teach you a little lesson of my own. And I assure you, it has nothing to do with teamwork or friendship! And it all starts with this! A magic card known as "Orichalcos Mirror". Now all I have to do is sacrifice a monster from my hand in order to summon my Mirror Knight calling! Which in turn calls four knights to the field to protect me."

They appeared one by one; four Mirror Knight Tokens armored in bright steel, with identical curved visors sealing their helmets, identical swords, and identical flat shields fronted with mirrors.

"He played four monsters in one turn?!" Gasped Tèa. Cecelia nodded, but couldn't help noticing all the Knights were of different heights except the middle two. If they were duel monsters, shouldn't they all be exactly the same?

"You poor fools. You'll never get past my Mirror Knights! And, thanks to my Orichalcos Deuteros, I gain three thousand more lifepoints!" Said Dartz, his life points now reading 7500.

"That's insane!" Mokuba exclaimed.

Each Mirror Knight in its faceless visor had 0 attack points, but rose to 500 from the Seal of Orichalcos.

"Now, pay close attention to the mirror's reflection." Warned Dartz.

One Mirror Knight's shield reflected Kaiba, standing in the shadow of his dragon.

"All right, what's going on?!" Asked Kaiba.

"Each knight reflects something, or someone on your side of the field. That dictates the value of their attack points." Said Dartz.

"So that means...!" Yami whispered, trailing off in horror.

"Yes, it does! My knights receive the same number of attack points as their targets!" Said Dartz, laughing.

One shield reflected Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon, another Black Luster Soldier, another Kaiba, and the fourth reflected Yami. The two on Dartz's left still only had 500 attack points each; the one on the far right got 3000 attack points, the middle right 4500.

Then all four of the knights attacked. Kaiba's Blue-Eyes Ultimate Dragon was slain, as was Yami's Black Luster Soldier. A third knight slashed Kaiba, and the fourth attacked Yami.

"What's wrong- Scared of your own reflections?!" Asked Dartz mockingly as both Yami's lifepoints and Kaiba's decreased from 4000 to 3500.

The Mirror Knights' shields reappeared one by one.

"As long as my Mirror Knight Calling crystal is on the field, my monsters' shields will always return! Which means, my Mirror Knights can't be destroyed! So go ahead and summon whatever you'd like." Said Dartz dismissively.

"Fine, I will! But first I think I'll activate my "Card of Demise"! This lets me draw five new cards, as long as I discard my entire hand in five turns; but it's worth it, for a fresh start!" Said Kaiba. "Next I'll play my "Silent Doom" card, so I can summon a monster from my grave in defense mode! And I choose Blade Knight! And now, I sacrifice Blade Knight, in order to summon Kaiser Glider. And last, I'll place one card facedown."

"I must say, I'm impressed. Your Kaiser Glider is safe from any monster with the same number of attack points; so my Knights can't crush it." Dartz remarked.

 _Kaiba may be safe for now, but we need to find a way to destroy his monsters, not hide from them!_ Thought Yami.

"All right, Dartz- My move!"

 _"Mirror Force"! This should help!_ He thought to himself.

"First I'll place one card facedown. And then I'll summon my Big Shield Gardna to the field in defense mode! That's all for now."

"How pathetic! Now then- since it's the start of a new turn for me, I gain another three thousand lifepoints." Dartz stated, his life points now reading 10500.

"We must stop him, and fast." _When Dartz attacks, I'll activate my Mirror Force to counteract his mirrors, and destroy his knights!_ Thought Yami.

"Hold on, folks! I activate my trap card! Your knights are only safe if your Mirror Knight Calling magic card is in play! So now- I'll squash it! With "Ring of Destruction"!

Kaiba's trap took the form of an iron ring with bright red explosives attached around it. It fastened itself around the big crystal that was Mirror Knight Calling, and detonated. The debris shot through the rank of knights, though they don't move. Kaiba's lifepoints dropped to 3000, but from the confident smile on his face he clearly decided it was well worth it. Dartz's lifepoints also decreased to 10000.

"Now, when your knights are destroyed, they can't come back!" He said, confidently.

The face visors on each of the knights began to crack, as though made of cheap silver-painted plaster. They shattered one by one, but never fell from the knights' faces.

"Hey, wait! What's going on?!" Kaiba demanded. But he was cut off by Cecelia's shrill, bloodcurdling scream.

The first visor fell to the floor in shards. But her gaze was fixated on the knight on the far right. Dartz smiled with sinister amusement.

"Recognize anyone?" Asked Dartz with a smile.

"Yugi! But how?!" Asked Yami.

The third knight was Mai, her expression just as lifeless and empty as Yugi's. Between Yugi and Mai stood Joey, and on Mai's other side, the knight Cecelia was fixated on, was her own husband- Maximillion Pegasus.

"I control the souls of your companions, remember?" Asked Dartz.

"Let them go!" Tristan ordered.

"Attack my knights and you'll be attacking your friends."

Yami gasped in horror, his eyes on the wall that contained the souls of his friends.

 _If I had played my Mirror Force... that would mean... my friends would be gone forever...! By my own hand...!_

"No matter what you do, you lose."

The four knights- Yugi, Joey, Mai, and Pegasus- stood there silently.

"It's impossible to defeat me without destroying these monsters. And you can't destroy my knights without destroying the souls of your friends!"


	22. Mirrors

**Author's Note: I promised double** **chapters and I delivered! Enjoy!**

 **"Don't look there's faces looking back  
An enemy I can't attack  
I'm held hostage by these eyes  
Familiar faces I deny  
One face regret, the other pain  
Two eyes in my past stare with shame  
In my reflection I see fear  
So I'm smashing through these mirrors!" -"Mirrors" by Aviators **

"So tell me, gentlemen... What do you think of my newest soldiers? I'm sure there's no need for any introductions."

"That's not funny, Dartz." Said Yami.

"Maybe not to you."

The four knights stared at them blankly, their faces expressionless.

"That's enough!" Yami cried.

"Just drop the magic act and let's duel!" Said Kaiba.

"But we are dueling, you insensible twit! We're just doing it by my rules, that's all. Since I now control the souls of your former friends, I thought it would be fun to let them play along with us." Dartz smirked.

"Leave them alone!" Yelled Tèa.

"What did they do to you?!" Demanded Tristan.

"Hm. You should be thanking me." Said Dartz.

"And why is that?" Asked Yami.

"I'm giving you one last chance to see your companions, before their souls are gone forever."

"You'll never take them away from us, Dartz!"

"That's right, Pharaoh; let your anger consume you. Feel the darkness within you beginning to spread. The stronger your rage, the more powerful the Great Leviathan will be when it absorbs your soul. Now, where was I? Ah yes; Mirror Knight Yugi- it's time to attack your other half."

Yami tensed automatically. Yugi mechanically raised his sword, moving reluctantly.

"No, Yugi! Fight it! I know you can hear me!"

Yugi's arm shook, as though he was fighting to force it back down. His blank eyes moved to watch the sword. Yugi was mute, barely able to move, but was clearly fighting.

"What's this? My soldier is still loyal to you? How touching. Even though you turned your back on him he refuses to seek revenge. That will soon change."

"We'll see." Said Yami darkly.

"Let's move on. I lay a card facedown on the field. Let's see what you've got, Kaiba."

"My pleasure." He said, drawing a card.

 _I'm not gonna be intimidated just because he put a few familiar faces on his little soldiers._ He thought.

"First, I'll play my "Pot of Greed" magic card; letting me draw twice. And then I'll activate my "Cost Down" card. It lowers the level of a monster in my hand, so I can summon it without a sacrifice. Now I call to the field my Different Dimension Dragon. And thanks to its special ability, my dragon can't be destroyed by any monster with less than nineteen hundred attack points! And don't forget, my Kaiser Glider can't be destroyed by your Knights either.

"Well? What're you waiting for?" Asked Dartz.

Kaiba pointed to Mai.

"Kaiser Glider! Attack knight number three!"

Mokuba took a step back.

"But that's Mai!" Said Tristan.

"Please, stop!" Mokuba whispered.

"Kaiba-" Yami began, but was cut off.

"Quiet! I'm not gonna let some mind trick stop me from winning this duel. That lunatic seized control of my company; and I'm prepared to do whatever I have to to get it back! Do I make myself clear?!"

Dartz looked at him, amused. "Hm."

"I'm begging you..."

"Please, Yugi; he's trying to stall us And I told you, it's not going to work on me.

Yami looked away, dejected. Kaiba had clearly made up his mind.

"Very well."

 _What are we supposed to do?_ He wondered. _If we let Dartz win, then he'll capture us, and the whole planet will suffer; but if we fight back, our friends will be lost forever._

Despairing, he looked from Pegasus, to Mai, to Joey, to Yugi.

"So you've got a dweeb army- am I supposed to be scared to attack?" Asked Kaiba, smiling.

Dartz shrugged. "Well, Only if destroying an innocent soul _concerns_ you."

"Nah. As the president of a major corporation, I have to do that every day. Now, Kaiser Glider! Continue your attack on his mirror knight!"

Kaiser Glider let loose a black-crackling sphere of gold light, at the Mai knight.

"Oh no! Mai!" Cried Tèa.

She took the blast on her shield, and it shattered.

"There goes her mirror shield." Said Mokuba.

"That means one more attack and she's gone!" Said Tèa.

"Different Dimension Dragon, attack her again!"

Different Dimension Dragon started gathering multicolored sparks in its mouth, ready to attack.

"Kaiba, stop!" Begged Yami.

Different Dimension Dragon's sparks coalesced into a bright opalescent stream, and it headed straight for the Mai knight. She faced it down expressionlessly as Yami looked on helplessly.

"Oh no..."

She disappeared in the multicolored light.

"Hey, look!" Shouted Tèa.

Yami reacted with surprise. Joey stood in front of Mai, his shield blackened from the attack; it shattered from his arm.

"Joey saved her!" Said Yami, shocked

"I don't believe it!" Said Tristan in disbelief.

"Now he lost his shield!" Said Tèa, frightened.

"Mai's all right- thanks to Joey." Yami said in Relief.

"Yes, and by sacrificing his own shield to protect Mai, Joseph Wheeler just ruined your attack."

"Figures Wheeler'd mess things up. I'll place one card facedown and end my turn!"

"Back to me." Said the Pharaoh.

"Yugi- you know what you have to do for us to win! Crush Wheeler and Mai!"

 _No... I can't endanger them._ Thought Yami.

"Come on! Neither one of them has a shield, now, attack!"

Yami stared at his card, then into Joey's blank eyes.

 _In a warehouse somewhere in Domino City, a fire was raging._

 _"We'll save ya, Yug!"_

 _Joey pulled with all his might, straining to free Yugi and the Millennium Puzzle._

 _In the deep water near Domino Pier, Yugi and Joey were both being dragged down by chains. Joey swam to Yugi, holding his breath, and unlocks the manacle around Yugi's ankle, letting him drift back to the surface while Joey gets pulled deeper down._

Yami turned next to Mai.

 _In the castle arena at Duelist Kingdom, the Duelist Kingdom Playoff match between Yugi and Mai had just ended._

 _"You fought with honor, Yugi. Nice duel!" She said. Yami gave her a thumbs-up._

 _It was during the Battle City Finals. Mai was bound helplessly to a stone tablet, Joey struggling to free her, as a huge fireball threatened to engulf them both. At the last second, Yami jumped up on the platform, back to the fireball, arms spread, making himself a wall between his friends and the Egyptian Gods' irascible fury._

 _"Enough!" He cried. "No evil shall penetrate me!"_

 _Joey and Mai looked up from being ready to get hit, alarmed._

 _"Yugi!" They chorused._

Pegasus' one eye was blank and empty as he stared at him.

 _At Industrial Illusions Headquarters, Yami found a holographic message left for him by Pegasus._

 _"If his plan works, Dartz will have succeeded in unleashing a truly devastating power. You're our only hope, Yugi-boy! You're the only one who could possibly help me in my hour of need."_

Even Yugi stood still and stony, his wide eyes devoid of life.

 _"I won't let this happen to you!"_

 _At the last second, Yugi appeared behind Yami and shoved him out of the green light of the Seal of Orichalcos. Yami turned, surprise in his red-glinting eyes, the Seal burning on his forehead._

 _"Yugi! No!"_

 _Yugi gazed back at him, absolving and selfless._

 _"I'm letting the Seal take me, instead."_

 _The green column of light rushed into the roiling heavens._

 _I refuse to put my friends in harm's way!_ He thought.

His fist was starting to bend the cards in his hand.

"All right, Dartz... I have no choice but to end my turn." He said solemnly.

 **A/N: My favorite line of the whole series is in this chapter! Can you guess what it is? I'll let you know in the next chapter :)**


	23. Fight

**Author's Note: I Have had this chapter planned since the story first started, and I can't believe it's finally here! I love this chapter so much, and I hope you guys do too! Please review and make my day!**

 **Dark Yugi: You were so close! It's actually when Dartz goes "well only if destroying an innocent soul _concerns_ you." And Kaiba replies: "Nah. As the CEO of a major corporation, I do that everyday." I'm so glad you liked the other chapters! I hope you like this one too!**

 **"Feels like these shards are cutting deep  
This battle's breaking all of me  
Feels like a battle against time  
This war is festering inside  
We can move past this struggle here  
It's time to conquer our own fears  
And break free of our mirrors." -"Mirrors" by Aviators  
**

Cecelia had been watching everything that had happened from a distance. Everyone else was worrying over the other mirror Knights, but she only had eyes for her Maximillion. Every time a knight was targeted, she held her breath, praying to whatever God would listen to her that he would be safe. There came a point when she became so hysterical over her husband's safety that Tèa and Tristan decided to restrain her gently to make sure she didn't do something that might get her hurt. The duel continued on as she watched with baited breath. The terror swelling inside of her was matched by none. The only thing that remotely calmed her down was thinking about her baby. She watched as the pharaoh sacrificed his last defense to make sure Kaiba's dragon could withstand the attack of Dartz's Orichalcos Malevolence.

"Is your dueling partner really worth that much to you, Pharaoh? Because you just gave up your only defense to save him, leaving your life points wide open to a direct attack! As a matter of fact you left yourself open to four attacks, and I have the perfect foursome in mind for the job: my mirror Knights! Known affectionately to you as Mai, Pegasus, Yugi, and Joey. Now, strike down the Pharaoh my four Knights." Dartz ordered.

"Max..." Whispered Cecelia in horror. "Max!" She said, louder, struggling to break free from their grip. She had to get to him and she had to do it now. She watched as Yugi struck his other half as the Pharaoh said his name, heartbroken. Mai attacked next, and she knew she had to hurry. She wretched herself free just as Joey attacked and ran toward the battlefield where the seal of Orichalcos kept them imprisoned.

"Oh no!" Said Kaiba. Yami got up from the ground, face contorted with pain.

"How's it feel?" Asked Dartz. "They're on my side now. One more left. I saved the best for last!"

Just as Pegasus started running, Cecelia's scream resounded through the entire room.

"MAX! STOP!"

Pegasus himself was only vaguely aware of what was going on. He didn't understand why he was attacking, he just did. There was no rhyme or reason to it. He was a puppet in a madman's game. Puppets didn't have a mind of their own, they just had someone pulling their strings. There should have been nothing to stop him from doing what he was told. Until he heard that voice- _her_ voice. The only voice that could have broken through to him in that endless instant. The only voice that could have cut his strings. He did as she asked and stopped halfway across the field.

"What's this?" Asked Dartz. Cecelia stood right in front of the shield, trying to get as close to her husband as possible.

"Max, you have to stop this attack." She said, trying to sound calm. "You asked Yugi to protect me, remember? Well how can he protect me if he loses the duel? How can he help bring you back home to me if his soul is sealed away like yours is? If he loses this duel we will never get to be together again. You'll be without a wife, I'll be without a husband, and our baby will be without a father. Please, you have to listen to me and stop this before it's too late!" She said with a sob.

He was staring at her by that point. His eyes were blank and soulless, but it was undoubtedly her he was looking at. She felt as if he were looking right through her, but it was quite the opposite. He could see the distress written all over her face as the tears streamed down her cheeks. That woke him up a little bit.

 _Angels shouldn't cry._ He thought to himself.

"Please," she whispered, " _please_ don't do it."

Pegasus was shaking in his armor, desperately fighting the urge to attack.

"I know you can hear me, Max! Put the sword down! Do it for me! Do it for the baby!" She cried.

"Cecelia..." He whispered, still shaking.

"Maximillion..."

He didn't drop the sword, but he did walk over to where she was standing. Switching his shield to the same hand as his sword, he put his free hand against the barrier that kept them apart. She did the same, and for a moment, all was quiet before Cecelia began talking to him again.

Dartz, who was watching the scene before him, was at first baffled by the exchange, but was then filled with anger. This was a bitter reminder that his time with his own wife was tragically cut short. He thrust his arm out in a sweeping motion.

"Silence!" He yelled, the command echoing throughout the room. Cecelia was suddenly sent flying backwards toward the wall as she screamed. Her hands flew to her stomach, trying to protect the tiny life growing inside her.

Seeing that snapped Pegasus out of his daze.

" _No_!" He cried, dropping the sword and shield in his hand and slamming his fists against the force field, trying to get out.

"Max, help!" She said as her arms were pinned against the wall by an invisible force.

Pegasus suddenly stopped banging on the shield. He closed his eye, and his millennium eye began glowing.

"This can't be good!" Said Tristan, cowering away from him. Tèa and Mokuba followed suit, while Yami and Kaiba watched him curiously.

Pegasus used his eye to take his spirit from his current shell of a body so that he could save his wife. He used the power of his millennium eye to get through the barrier that kept him from his bride. Once he got out, he set himself in front of her, arms outstretched so that he could shield her from any more danger.

He took a harsh beating as wave after wave of invisible forces struck him, but held out as long as he possibly could. Eventually the beatings stopped, but Pegasus was too weak to stay apart from his body anymore. He reluctantly returned to his suit of armor. Once he was back in his body, he stood up and eyed Dartz with the fiercest glare in his Arsenal.

"Now my knight, attack the pharaoh!" He commanded.

Pegasus knew he wasn't strong enough to defy his orders by that point, but maybe there was something else he could do. He started running across the middle of the playing field when he abruptly turned and slashed Dartz with his saber. _No one_ hurt his wife and got away with it. He was smirking on the inside before he started running at Yugi. But instead of attacking him, his sword clashed against Yami's duel disk.

 _Yugi-Boy, please tell me you have the card I gave you! That card unlocks the secret of the legendary dragons!_ He thought.

"What are you waiting for?! Attack him!" Dartz demanded.

Reluctantly, Pegasus slashed the Pharaoh before returning to his spot among the other mirror Knights.

Cecelia was finally let go, and rushed over to where the rest of the group stood.

"Are you okay?" Asked Tèa, putting a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm fine." She said unconvincingly. Tèa gave her a look. "I'm just a little shaken up is all..." Her hand went to her stomach as she feared for the child inside of her. She went back to watching the duel, albeit uneasily, and watched as Kaiba summoned his mirror force dragon.

"Mirror force dragon, attack his Pegasus knight now!"

"What?! No!" Cried Cecelia. Tristan and Tèa were quick to restrain her while she looked on helplessly. Dartz watched his knight reflect the attack with a kind of bitter anger.

"Why the long face?" Asked Kaiba. "Could it be that you're aware of my dragon's special ability?! Go absorb reflection!"

"I guess Kaiba knew what he was doing." Said Tristan.

"What did I tell ya? My brother's always got a plan." Said Mokuba.

"Time to use the power I just absorbed by reflecting the blast back to your side and taking out all four of your mirror Knights!"

"Kaiba, don't do it!" Said Yami.

"Hold on- if they get hit, are their souls lost forever?!" Asked Tèa.

"We're about to find out." Murmured Dartz.

"Don't think I'm as gullible as the rest of these dorks! You can't scare me with a couple of reprogrammed holograms! Don't you know who I am?! I invented this technology, and I know how you manipulated the images to resemble those four losers! So you can drop the act, Dartz! Mirror force dragon, flatten those phonies now! Absorb reflection, activate!"

Yami leaned forward, but Kaiba used an arm to hold him back. "Relax." He said as Cecelia screamed.

"Max!" She shrieked, doubling over.

The blast hit them all and Yami leaned forward. "Yugi, are you alright?!"

Yugi smiled. _We're fine._

"But how?"

Pegasus smiled. _Kaiba-Boy, you did it._

With that, all of the mirror Knights disappeared.

"Max..." She sobbed, falling to her knees. Tèa and Tristan let go of her, only to have her collapse to the floor, unconscious, seconds later.

 **Please Review!**


	24. The Legend

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: So glad you liked the chapter! I hope you like this one too!**

 **"Storytelling is the most powerful way to put ideas into the world today." -Robert McAfee Brown**

When Pegasus opened his eye again, he found himself inside a bubble. The place he was in was completely red, except for what was directly ahead of him. There was a patch of blackness that he assumed was skin, surrounding a singular eye. It was bright yellow with a slitted pupil that reminded him eerily of a snake eye. He made a point to look away from that. He felt the eye staring into his very soul. When he looked around, dozens of other people were trapped just as he was. But how had he gotten here? One minute he was protecting his wife from Dartz and the next he was here, being sucked toward the great leviathan. He felt a chill run up his spine. If was made a part of the great leviathan, how could he ever save his precious Cecelia? He shuttered at the thought and tried to direct his thinking to something more positive- but being trapped in a bubble and unable to do anything while he was basically floating toward his doom was enough to dampen his spirits. But the idea that he had succeeded somewhat in saving his wife from suffering the same fate as he had brought his mood up a little bit.

"I've had some weird dreams but this one takes the cake..." Murmured a familiar voice. "Wait, hold on... I remember being trapped in a duel but how did I end up floating around in here?"

"Joey? Is that you?" Asked another voice.

"Yugi! Long time no see!"

"I'm glad you're alright." Said Yugi with a smile.

Pegasus was irritated. "Please bubble boy, you call this alright?!"

"Pegasus!" They chorused.

"If we don't escape soon we never will!"

"Where exactly are we anyway?" Asked Joey. "Wait a minute, everyone in here had their soul captured. This must be where the Orichalcos spits you out after you lose a duel!" He said, hyperventilating. "Calm down. Maybe this is just a dream..."

"It's no dream." Said Yugi. "And take a look! Things are about to get worse!"

"What's that?!" Asked Joey, panicking as he was pushed closer to a giant yellow eye.

"Don't you pay attention?!" Snapped Pegasus. "That's the great leviathan and it's using human souls for power."

"It's doing what?! But I don't want to be turned into soul food!" He wailed.

"We can still get out of this mess if the pharaoh defeats Dartz!" Said Yugi.

"But how's he gonna do that? Rich Boy's with us now!" He said, looking over at Kaiba. "That means the pharaoh's facing Dartz alone out there!"

"Wrong. Kaiba may have been knocked out of the fight, but the pharaoh's not alone, Joey."

"I'm afraid I don't follow, Yug."

"He's still got all of us. Sure, we're not right there next to him, but we've never let that stop us before!"

"Yeah, but I don't know if that's gonna work this time- 'cause Dartz is playing by a whole new set of rules. And nothing can take down that Orichalcos card."

"There is one thing that can help." Said Pegasus. "It's the card I gave him. And if the pharaoh draws it, he'll be able to unleash a force like no other!"

"And this card can beat Dartz?" Asked Joey.

"Yes. You see, it was during a trip to Egypt that I was inspired to create the game of Duel Monsters, after making an astonishing discovery- ancient kings and sorcerers once performed dark rituals to conjure real monsters. These creatures were believed to have lived in a universe parallel to ours, and guarding the gateway to this dominion of the beast were three legendary dragons, known as Tamaeus, Criteus, and Hermos. But you already know about them, right?"

"Right!" Affirmed Joey.

"What you don't know is that these dragons aren't what they appear to be. They were buried with a dark secret, so I created a card that unlocks this mystery!"

"I don't get it, what's the secret?" Asked Yugi.

"I spent many years scouring the globe for an answer to that very question, Yugi-Boy. First I searched the microscopic world for the tiniest clues. Then I scanned the vast reaches of the universe and still nothing. Other than one stone tablet beneath the sands of Egypt there was no record of the existence of these dragons. Then it dawned on me: what if these dragons aren't dragons at all? What if they're humans?"

"Humans? But how is that possible, Pegasus?!" Demanded Yugi. "And what does it have to do with that mystery card you gave the pharaoh?"

"During the battle of Atlantis Dartz transformed three brave Knights into dragons in order to weaken them. Now the pharaoh must restore them to their original form before we disappear forever!"

They stayed there, being pulled toward the mysterious eye for quite some time. How long, none of them were sure. Then, all of a sudden, a bright slash appeared to the right of them. Every head inside turned to look at the glowing opening.

"Look! It's some kind of opening!" Said Joey. "That could be a way out, guys!"

"Chosen duelists, by the power of Atlantis, we release thee!" Boomed a thundering voice. Joey was taken through the opening, then Kaiba, and then Yugi. All of them screaming. Pegasus stared at the opening, miffed.

"There are other people in here too, you know!" He said resentfully.

"Now, duelists of the prophecy, by order of the Knights of Atlantis, cross into the human world!" The voice commanded. The three bodies of Joey, Kaiba, and Yugi that were inside bubbles transformed into glowing orbs of white light when they finally crossed over into the human world.

Once they did, the shallow opening was closed, dashing the hopes of everyone on the other side of it who still had yet to face the terror that was being inside of the great leviathan.

Back in Dartz's lair, those three balls of white light flew through the opening and back into their respective bodies.


	25. Send Off

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: So glad you're loving the story! I hope you like this chapter! And if you think this one's good, just wait until tomorrow's chapter ;)**

 **"The big question is whether you are going to be able to say a hearty yes to your adventure." -Joseph Campbell**

When Cecelia finally awoke it was to Croquet gently shaking her shoulder.

"Mrs. Cecelia? Mrs. Cecelia, are you alright?"

She sat up, head throbbing with pain. She put a hand to her head and realized too late that she had hurt herself when she had fainted earlier. Croquet helped her to her feet.

"Shall I call you a doctor, Ma'am?"

"It wouldn't do you any good. No doctor could get here."

She turned and saw everyone else picking themselves up from the ground. What on earth had happened while she was out? Tèa looked at the person clad all in blue with Spiky hair standing before her and stepped forward.

"Where are we? Is that Yugi?"

"Nah, it's the Pharaoh." Said Tristan.

"No Tristan, I think Yugi's back!"

"He does kind of look shorter." Murmured Mokuba.

He turned around, showing that he was indeed Yugi Moto.

"It is you... Yugi!"

"Tèa?"

She cried, throwing her arms around his neck. "I thought we'd never see you again!"

"It's great to see you too, Tèa."

"Alright, out of my way people, where's my little buddy?" Called Joey, running through the temple to his friend. "Yug! Man did I miss this. Spiky little head!"

Yugi laughed. "Hey, Joey!"

"The gang is back!" Said Tèa cheerfully.

"Don't forget about me!" Said Tristan, running to join in the group hug.

"I guess if you guys were set free, so was everyone else Dartz captured." Said Mokuba.

"No..." Said Cecelia sadly. "Max is still trapped in there." She clutched at the locket around her neck and put a hand on her stomach.

"Guess again, Mokuba." Said Joey, looking at the body of Rafael that lay on the ground. Just before everyone else had been knocked out, Rafael had tried to save the day- only to end up a prisoner of the Orichalcos. "Not everyone was so lucky. All the other poor schlubs are still trapped."

"Mr. Kaiba! Come outside!" Yelled Roland.

They all ran outside, but paused when they saw what Roland was yelling about.

"Look." Said Mokuba.

"Oh great." Said Kaiba.

"What is that?!" Said Joey, Tristan, Yugi, and Tèa in unison.

"Whatever it is, it's huge!" Said Joey.

"Don't tell me..." Tèa began.

"What?" Asked Tristan.

"It's Atlantis!"

"You sure that thing is Atlantis?" He pressed.

"Hm. Big, giant, ancient city looking thing rising up out of the ocean. I'd say that fits the bill." Said Joey.

"I guess that means Dartz is still out there and he's not going to give up." Said Yugi. "Let's just hope he's alone, guys."

"You mean he could have woken up that leviathan thing?" Asked Joey.

"Is that the giant monster he kept talking about?" Asked Mokuba.

"Yup. And let me tell you, from what I saw, it ain't pretty."

"I don't know what the deal is, but I'm going up there to find out!" Kaiba Declared.

"Great. Tell us all about it when you get back." Tristan replied.

"Hold on, guys. I'm going too." Said Yugi.

"You're what?!" Said Tèa.

"Not without me you're not!" Said Joey.

"Are you three nuts?" Asked Tristan.

"You just got back and you're going to walk into Dartz's hands again?! You've done everything you can, so just walk away while you still have the chance!" Cried Tèa.

"Look, I know it's hard to see us go, but there are still people trapped on the other side," he said, glancing at Cecelia, "and they're counting on us, Tèa."

"You're right." She said reluctantly.

"We'll be back soon." He promised.

"Mr. Kaiba, more bad news!" Said Roland.

"What now?" He asked, exasperated.

"There's a massive hurricane heading toward the east coast, sir. And it will be there in one hour."

"Hurricane?" Repeated Kaiba. He shook it off. "I don't know about you dweebs, but I'm going up there to find Dartz."

"Seto, hold on!" Called Mokuba.

"Yeah, wait for us!" Said Yugi.

"Don't do me any favors, Yugi. I'm perfectly capable of handling this on my own."

"Hey! Don't think you're getting all the credit for this!" Said Joey, catching up to him.

"Don't you have someone else to annoy?" Asked Kaiba irritably.

"Nope. Not at the moment." Yugi ran to catch up with them.

"Wait, Yugi!" Called Tèa.

"What's up? Wait, I know. You want to wish the pharaoh luck, right?"

"Um, actually, I wanted to wish you luck."

"Oh."

"And Yugi? You promised you'd come back soon. Now go and kick some Dartz butt, will ya?"

"Sure thing! We'll be back before you know it!"

"And remember, we're here if you need us!" Said Tristan.

"Thanks, Tristan!"

Mokuba started running after them when Tèa yelled "Stop right there, Mokuba!"

"Huh?" He asked, turning around.

He looked at her in surprise. "Your brother is going to be fine, trust me."

He looked back at them and then nodded.

Cecelia went and stood next to Tèa, eyes transfixed on the giant city that was now floating in the sky. She couldn't believe that she was seeing the lost city of Atlantis with her own two eyes. As she stood there, staring at it, she wished forlornly that Maximillion was there to see it with her. As she looked up at the smoggy looking sky, she tried to find something- anything- to give her hope. But she found nothing in the sky so she looked down at the ground. She was hoping for perhaps a flower growing in the cracks of the cement, or maybe something shiny in one of the crevices. Something that would tell her how all of this would end. But she couldn't find anything. It appeared that this ending would be a surprise to her.

She always hated surprises in moments like these.

So, huddled up together with the rest of their group, she watched with simultaneous nerves and dread churning around in her stomach at the city floating in the sky, hoping and praying with all of her might that her friends would be safe and that somehow, someway, her husband would be back in her arms very soon.


	26. Reunited

**"There is a sacredness in tears. They are not a mark of weakness, but of power. They speak more eloquently than ten thousand tongues. They are the messengers of overwhelming grief, of deep contrition and of unspeakable love." -Washington Irving**

Pegasus now resided not in a bubble, but in a dark and disgusting cavern that was the great leviathan's pit of despair. All around him were other souls that had been stolen away by Dartz, but he paid them no mind. He wanted to move his body and try to get out of there, but the inside of the great leviathan was sticky like gum and black as tar. He could feel himself slipping away a little more every second, but he tried to stay awake. Cecelia still needed him. He had to stay strong for her. The souls around him kept crying out for help, but he was already resigned to the fact that no one would ever hear his scream.

That is, until the three chosen duelists were captured in the great leviathan as well.

 _Yugi-Boy! You must free us before it's too late!_ He called as loudly as he could manage.

He heard Joey and Kaiba get sucked down, but Yugi was still hanging on, and that gave him hope. Suddenly, Yugi called out to all of them.

"Everyone, listen! Each one of us is a glimmer of light in this sea of shadows! Alone we may seem insignificant, but combined together we radiate enough energy to conquer the darkness! Now please, if you can hear me, focus on the light within your heart! It's the only way to save ourselves!"

Pegasus took a deep breath and centered himself.

"Remember those you care about!"

 _Cecelia. And the baby._

 _He sat at the breakfast table with Cecelia at his side._

 _"Oh Maximillion, you're such a gentleman." She said, giving him a peck on the cheek. "But we don't have to go anywhere special. Just being with you is enough for me. I want us to have the honeymoon we never had. All I want is uninterrupted time with you my darling." She said, looking up at him sweetly._

"Remember those who have helped you!"

 _He stood making a hologram for when Yugi and his friends reached his sanctuary._

 _"I also have a more personal favor to ask of you. This is a secret of the utmost importance. I didn't want to tell anyone about this, but I have no choice. You're the only one who could possibly help me in my hour of need. I need you to protect someone for me. Don't let her out of your sight! She'll be in my office on the top floor. Her name is Cecelia, and she is my beloved wife. Now that my soul has been taken I can no longer protect her... Please, I beg of you, keep her safe for me. When this ends I'll give you whatever you want, but please give me peace of mind and keep my wife safe. And when you see her, tell her I sent you and told her to trust you. Prove you're not lying by saying the following words to her: ti amo il mio bellissimo fiore. She'll know it was me. And when you see her, please tell her how much I love her. Please protect her, Yugi-boy. You're the only one left I can trust."_

"Remember What you fought for!"

 _He paced the room while Cecelia spoke with a doctor. Finally, the door opened._

 _"Cecelia my darling, are you alright?" He asked, riddled with anxiety. She smiled at him and it eased his nerves._

 _"I'm perfect, my love, I'm wonderful..." A huge smile graced her face. "Maximillion, I'm pregnant."_

"And Remember why you never gave up!"

 _He was trapped in a duel, his wife calling out to him._

 _"You asked Yugi to protect me, remember? Well how can he protect me if he loses the duel? How can he help bring you back home to me if his soul is sealed away like yours is? If he loses this duel we will never get to be together again. You'll be without a wife, I'll be without a husband, and our baby will be without a father. Please, you have to listen to me and stop this before it's too late!"  
_  
The light within his heart started to glow, and with a fleeting wish of good luck, he sent it forth to the pharaoh, hoping it would power him up enough that they could all escape. He knew that the Gods were released from the great beast along with the three chosen duelists, but that was all he knew.

For a few minutes, nothing happened. Pegasus' hopes started to become dashed as he waited inside the disgusting tar pit. Then, with a sudden mighty blast from the Egyptian God monsters, the great leviathan was vanquished. Beams of white light began breaking through it's black scaly skin, and then with a final flash of bright light, it exploded. The carcass of the monster began to fall from its place above the smog and clouds and down, down into the sea waiting beneath the darkness.

Suddenly, dozens upon dozens of orbs of white light began pouring out of the great leviathan. It looked as if it was a balloon being deflated as it plummeted toward the earth. Pegasus was freed at last and couldn't wait to get back to his body and hold his wife in his arms.

Cecelia, Croquet, Tèa, Tristan, Roland, and Mokuba were all watching the sky in awe. The millions of lights in the sky were moving every which way, casting out the darkness that had once engulfed the land. They were so distracted by the lights, they failed to notice one entering the helicopter.

With a gasp and opening of his eye, Pegasus was at last back in his own body. He looked around, but no one was there.

"Cecelia?" He asked, but no one answered. He went down the ramp and got onto solid ground. "Cecelia?" He called again.

Every head turned to where Pegasus now stood. Cecelia whipped around in a move so fast it didn't exist. She stared at him in shock and awe as the crowd around her parted like the Red Sea. "Max..." She whispered quietly. A smile graced his face. When the full impact that this was real finally hit, she cried out his name again as They both started running toward each other. Cecelia leaped into his waiting arms. He twirled her around in a circle while her lips crashed upon his in a kiss that would put even the most passionate of lovers to shame. She pulled him into her arms in the tightest of embraces, crying joyfully.

"You're finally here. Finally, you've come home to me."

 **Please Review!**


	27. Terror

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: I'm so glad you liked that chapter! I hope you like this one too!**

 **"How much tragedy has to happen before I split wide open?" -Alisa Mullen, _Unrequited_ (Chosen, #3)  
**  
For a moment every eye was locked on Pegasus and Cecelia. When it became clear that they needed a few minutes alone, they all went back to watching for Joey, Kaiba, and Yugi. Tèa couldn't help sneaking a glance back at them. They were standing close to one another, fingers interlocked, foreheads touching, whispering to each other and occasionally sharing a kiss. She smiled, and hoped that one day she could find a love like that.

Pegasus gently brushed the tears away from her face. "It's alright, my dove. I'm back. That's all that matters now." He said, kissing her.

"I know," she said, choked up. "I'm just so happy to have you back. I missed you so much."

"I missed you too." He said, moving to hold her. "But now we can go home." He said, relieved.

"I can hardly wait." She said earnestly. They kissed one more time before walking over to the others. Cecelia stood next to her husband, one arm around his waist, and her free hand on his chest as she leaned her head on his shoulder. Suddenly the great leviathan's spirit shot up from the sea and bolted toward the floating city of Atlantis. The green beam of light holding it in the sky was suddenly joined by a black vortex.

"What is that?!" Asked Tèa.

Cecelia inched closer to her husband. His own grip on her tightened.

As abruptly as it had come, the vortex was gone, as was the green light, and the city started to fall back into the sea.

Every single one of them wondered what would happen to their friends.

Suddenly, Kaiba came running out.

"Mokuba, start the engines!"

"Seto!" He called.

"We have to get out of here!"

"Without Yugi?! No way!" Said Tèa. Joey and Kaiba both looked back in surprise. "Don't you know where he is?" She asked.

"Don't tell me..." Started Joey.

"You mean he's still in there?!" Tèa cried.

"Time's running out!" Said Mokuba.

"Mokuba's right. We can't wait."

"Yugi!" Called Joey, starting back toward the temple. Tristan grabbed him and held on.

"Are you nuts, man?!"

"Get your hands off of me, Tristan! I'm not leaving here without Yugi!"

"Joey, we have to trust that he found a way out on his own!"

"Yugi!" Joey cried again as the helicopter blades began to whirl.

They all hopped on board and took off just as the temple began to sink into the sea alongside Atlantis.

"Good riddance." Said Kaiba.

"I just hope Yugi wasn't in there." Said Mokuba.

"Me too." Whispered Tèa. She went to the window and looked outside.

"Look, those weird lights are back."

"Well that explains why. It's Dark Magician Girl and the three legendary Knights!" Said Joey.

"Guess they're going home now that their world is safe again..."

Joey pulled out his Claw Of Hermos card, and it disintegrated. "Well there goes Hermos." Kaiba took out Critius with the same result.

"Oh well, no big deal," he said, shaking it off. "My deck's still unstoppable."

Tèa suddenly pointed out the window. "Look!"

"Hey, It's Yugi!" Exclaimed Tristan.

The helicopter landed on the sandy beach, and Joey Tristan and Tèa ran out to greet their friend while the Kaiba brothers, Roland, and the Pegasus' stayed in the helicopter. Once everybody was on board the helicopter started up again.

Pegasus sat in one of the chairs, his wife sitting comfortably on his lap, eyes closed and head resting on his chest. He could tell without even looking at her that she was exhausted. Not only that, but she had been having a lot of back pain. She wasn't sleeping, but he knew she wanted to be, so he held as still as possible in case she decided to sleep. He tilted his head to the side and closed his eye, smelling the scent of lavender that wafted from her hair. He was calm and centered, focusing on the feeling of holding his wife. He was perfectly in tune with her body- which it why his eye snapped open when he felt her tense.

"Darling? Are you alright?" He asked.

"I..." She looked up at him, and stopped short. After everything he had been through, she couldn't bring herself to lie to him. "I just don't feel well."

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"My back is just hurting that's all."

"Then come and sit in a chair with a back to it."

"I don't know..."

"I'll help you."

He offered her his hand, but for the first time in her life she was afraid to take it. She was scared of what was happening to her. But when she looked into his eyes she felt safe, so she took his hand but she felt drowsy- and kind of dizzy too. When she stood up she swayed precariously and then started falling backwards. Luckily, Maximillion caught her long before she could get hurt.

"Cecelia?!" He cried panicked.

"Max..." She whispered, eyes barely open. Her skin was paler than the moon, her eyes glassy and unfocused. He scooped her up and laid her across several seats. Everyone was wondering what was going on, but they kept their distance, knowing that Pegasus was on edge and remembering his penchant for hurting others to get what he wanted. He was kneeling beside her, clutching her hand in his own. He looked up at Croquet who looked like he was about to faint himself.

"Croquet?" He snapped.

"Yes sir?" He asked nervously.

"I want to know where the next hospital is, and I want to know right now!" He demanded.

"Yes sir!" He said, fumbling to get his phone from his pocket. You could hear a pin drop in the anxious silence.

He had blocked out the noise of everyone behind him, but there was a sound so faint he almost missed it. It was a constant dripping noise. He tried to figure out where it was coming from, so he looked down toward Cecelia's feet to see something dark dropping onto the floor. He moved over to get a closer look and gasped.

A small pool of blood had formed on one of the chairs and was overflowing onto the floor.


	28. Mission

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: I hope you enjoy this chapter!**

 **"The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." -H. P. Lovecraft**

Pegasus tried to steady himself by focusing on the sound of Cecelia's breathing. Although it grounded him some, he couldn't help but flinch every time she struggled to hold back her pain. Although he was panicking internally, he tried to keep his face calm and collected. Inside, though, he was a wreck. Everyone else was perfectly quiet. All except croquet who was still on the phone. Pegasus was so focused on her breathing he almost didn't hear her speaking to him.

"Max?" Her whisper was almost as quiet as a breath.

"Yes my love?" He asked, gently holding her hand in his own.

"I'm frightened." She said, closing her eyes as a tear streaked down her cheek. He wiped it away and gave her hand a gentle squeeze.

"I know," he whispered, looking over at the puddle of blood what was slowly growing on the ground. It filled him with the most primal kind of fear. The fear of losing his wife twice in one lifetime. "So am I."

He didn't want to upset her, but he knew he couldn't lie to her either.

Finally, Croquet got off the phone. Pegasus stared at him, irritated.

"Well?!" He snapped. He could see Croquet getting flustered.

"The nearest hospital is twenty minutes away, sir."

Pegasus' frustration grew, but he didn't say anything to Croquet. The words he had in mind were unsuitable to say around a lady- especially his wife.

"It's just a little bit longer, darling. You must hold on for me. Please, stay awake." He begged.

"I'll try." She whispered. He pressed a kiss to her forehead and tried to keep her occupied while the others watched them.

When the helicopter finally started to land, Pegasus reacted so fast that no one could really process what was happening. He scooped his wife into his arms carefully but quickly. As soon as that door was open, he ran. The helicopter had landed on a nearby roof of a building, and it was Pegasus' job to get his wife to the hospital across the street. It seemed simple enough, and it would have been- if the building they landed on hadn't been a twenty five floor skyscraper.

But, that didn't really matter because of one simple fact: Pegasus didn't care.

He threw the roof door open and started climbing down twenty five flights of stairs. His heart was racing, his legs were burning, and he couldn't catch his breath, but he didn't care. He was not going to lose his child or his wife. Not today, and not ever. He counted every flight of stairs. He was insanely dizzy by flight fourteen, but he refused to stop. He passed right by dozens of confused faces but ignored them all. And when he felt like giving up he looked at the woman in his arms and ran even faster. Finally, he hit the ground floor. If he thought he'd been running before that was nothing compared to now. He burst through doors and ran right through the lobby of confused businessmen. He pushed himself to go harder and faster. He thought of the cartoons he had watched as a child, especially Funny Bunny, and pictured his own legs becoming a circular blur as he ran toward the hospital. He was getting so close! Finally, the emergency room doors were within his sight. He put the pedal to the metal and finally got through the doors, he ran to the reception desk.

"Please help." He gasped. "My wife is pregnant and bleeding heavily."

The receptionist called a nurse who got a wheelchair out for her. He set his wife in the chair and grasped her hand as she was whisked away to have an ultrasound. When she was finally laid in a bed, Pegasus was finally able to see her face. She was so pale that she looked more like a corpse than a human (the thought disturbed him more than he ever wanted to admit) and her eyes were lifeless and glassy. Her own grip on his hand was almost nonexistent other than a slight pressure against his fingers.

When a doctor finally came in, Pegasus felt his body sag in relief.

"Mr. And Mrs. Pegasus, my name is Doctor Barton, I'm a gynecologist, and my friend Doctor Akaine is an ultrasound technician. We've looked over your file and it seems that you're having a lot of hemorrhaging. So we're going to look and see how the baby is. Alright?"

They both nodded, and Pegasus sat down in the chair next to her, looking up at the monitor screen. He didn't know if he believed in a God since his parents had never taken him to a church growing up, but he figured now would be a good time to learn how to pray to one. He was still recovering from his endless trek down the stairs, but he unconsciously held his breath as the doctor lifted his wife's dress to put a warm blue jelly on her pelvis, then he took the wand and moved it around until he caught sight of a small bean shape on the screen.

Yet again, he stopped breathing.

That was his baby on the screen. An actual child of himself and Cecelia was on that screen. Of course he had been thrilled to hear that his wife was having a baby, and of course he had already started making plans for when the baby arrived, but he supposed that it hadn't hit him yet that this was really happening and that there was an actual human being growing inside of his wife. But now, seeing that little bean on the screen made it all real. Almost too real. Cecelia gripped both of his hands tightly, not taking her eyes off of the screen.

"How is our baby, doctor?" She whispered, trying to brace herself for the worst.

The doctor seemed surprised. "Well Mrs. Pegasus, this is highly unusual, but despite your bleeding it seems that your baby is unharmed. It's perfectly normal."


	29. Promises Kept

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: thank you for reviewing! I hope you love this chapter!**

 **"The bond that links your true family is not one of blood, but of respect and joy in each other's life." -Richard Bach**

The relief that washed over both Pegasus and Cecelia was immeasurable. She reached for her husband's hand and gave it a relieved squeeze. The doctors arranged for her to be moved to a regular room with a bed before they exited the room, just as happy tears began streaming down Cecelia's face.

"It's okay," She whispered, "our baby is okay."

"I know. Someone must be watching over us." He said.

He smiled gently at her, and they shared a kiss. They talked for a little while out of relief, However, Cecelia was exhausted. The stress of everything she'd gone through the past few weeks added to the dizzying amount of blood loss she'd suffered made it easy for her to pass out, leaving Pegasus to stand vigil over his bride. It wasn't the first time he'd done it, and he was certain that it wouldn't be the last.

Whenever she slept he had a tendency to mull over her every feature. The golden sunshine of her hair, her perfectly almond shaped eyes that were so blue he felt as though he could dive into them and get lost forever. The perfectly subtle curve of her nose, and the pinkness of her lips that put even the most beautiful of sunsets to shame. And the shade of pink that colored her cheeks when she smiled or blushed reminded him of the hue of pale roses. Every feature was unique and perfect, just like her.

He was so busy staring at her he didn't notice the group of people standing in the doorway. Although his face was hidden from them, Pegasus' body language spoke volumes louder than words could say. His posture, normally straight and proper, was hunched over. His body seemed to be closed in on itself, and seemed... Older somehow. Like he had aged two decades in two hours. It wasn't until someone coughed that Pegasus finally found out that he had visitors. He smiled at them warily. Yugi stepped forward.

"Is everything okay?" He asked. Pegasus nodded.

"She was suffering from hemorrhaging. The doctors were able to stop the bleeding. They took her in for an ultrasound, and somehow the baby is okay."

They all seemed to breathe a sigh of relief. Well, everyone except Kaiba that is. He just stared angrily at the wall.

"I'm so glad they're both okay." Said Tèa.

"Ditto." Added Tristan. Pegasus smiled at them gratefully, and then remembered something.

"Yugi-Boy, in all the excitement I almost forgot that we have some business to attend to."

Yugi quirked an eyebrow. "What's that?"

"When this all started I made you a promise that if you kept my wife safe I would give you whatever you wanted in return- and I am nothing if not a man of my word."

"It was no trouble at all. Really." He said, secretly a little embarrassed by all the attention.

"Even so, I can't just leave without giving you something in return. After all you've done for me it's the least I can do. You may choose whatever you want of mine to take. You may take my company, my island, whatever you wish. Losing those things mean nothing to me- not as long as I have her." He said, glancing at Cecelia. "If I have her, I have everything." He ran a hand gently down her cheek.

Yugi was about to politely decline his offer when Yami stopped him. He reminded him that they could take anything- including the millennium eye. Although both Yami and Yugi had absolutely no doubt that Pegasus earnestly meant what he said about having everything as long as he had his wife, Yami worried about the temptation that might occur if he were to still have it. Yami looked at his counterpart as he shared these thoughts with him, and Yugi nodded with understanding. It was a reasonable fear to have. So, since he was the one who was worrying about it, Yugi let Yami take over to make the deal himself.

The pharaoh stepped forward. "I may pick whatever I choose?"

"Yes. Whatever you want." He repeated.

"Then I choose your millennium eye."

Pegasus gave him a wry little smile and for a moment Yami was afraid that he'd been suckered into believing a lie, but when Pegasus spoke it eased his fears.

"I had a feeling that's what you would choose. I didn't need the powers of the eye to see that coming."

He turned his face away from them to take it out from his skull. He stared at it for a moment and said a silent goodbye and gave thanks for the item that had eventually led to his greatest wish being granted. He held it in his hand for a fraction of a moment more before turning around in his seat. He set the eye in Yugi's hand and looked up at him.

"Take great care of it, Yugi-Boy. It has served me very well and is like an old friend to me. Keep it safe, and may it give you the same happiness that it has given me and my family."

Yami smiled at him, pleasantly surprised.

"I will. Thank you."

Pegasus smiled at him with genuine happiness.

"If you dorks start holding hands next I think I'm going to puke up a lung." Said Kaiba, voice dripping with contempt. They all were glad to ignore him.

The friends all gathered around Cecelia's bed, quietly whispering to one another. When she finally woke up and saw them, she seemed refreshed and ready to go. They all talked for a long time. When the sun started to set in the west, Kaiba made the executive decision that they were going to leave now if they wanted a free ride home. Tèa started to protest, but Pegasus assured her that he, his wife, and Croquet could find there own way home. After promising to keep them updated on what was going on in their family, Pegasus and Cecelia said goodbye to each of their friends before they left to go back home.


	30. Home

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: so glad you're loving the story! I hope you love this chapter too!**

 **ACCIDENTS UPDATE: I got the idea to make a similar plot with Yugi and Atem. Thoughts?**

 **WARNING: There is sex in this chapter.**

 **"I'm the crossroads king  
In this wretched land  
You found me a mess  
But I'm a better man**

 **I could see it hidden  
Right from the start  
'Neath your jagged bones  
Was a beating heart**

 **And that heart is yours  
Or what I have left  
So take my secrets  
Take them off my chest**

 **That's why I'm here  
I've been broken too  
So maybe you can fix me  
And I'll fix you**

 **Don't hold back  
We're here right now  
There's nothing left here to keep us out, oh  
As different as  
The day and night**  
 **I'm starting to feel like this is right and  
You're the memory I can't erase  
You're the part of me I can't replace  
You're the angel that loved me somehow  
And you're the demon I can't live without." -"Angels And Demons" By Aviators (feat. Feather)**

Cecelia stayed in the hospital for two more days before she was able to go home. Maximillion wheeled her out of the hospital and into a waiting limousine. Although he had to make several calls, he got their bags from the hotel in California that they never actually got to. Now they were in the back of the limo. They were driven to the airport where Pegasus" private jet was waiting. He insisted on carrying his wife onto the plane. Croquet took a seat in the back of the jet while his boss enjoyed a nice and long flight home.

Cecelia enjoyed the uninterrupted time with her husband, talking with him and cuddling up to him. It made up for the seemingly endless hours that they were apart. To be able to look into his eye while she talked to him and to hear him speak back to her was a gift that she had taken for granted. Now she could completely appreciate the magnitude of that simple privilege. Pegasus kept an arm around her and sipped at his glass of wine. Finally he could get back to their life together.

The plane touched down at the airport, and they took a boat back to duelist kingdom.

When they finally entered the castle, Cecelia was filled with the overwhelming joy that came with being home again. She looked back at her husband who smiled at her. She went to her bedroom and got undressed, in desperate need of a shower. She happily got under the warm spray and began washing her hair.

Pegasus went into his office and started to get to work when he realized he had no motivation to do so. He sighed and folded his hands together. He just couldn't bring himself to work right now. He got up from his desk and went to go see what his wife was up to. She was often his muse. Maybe she could inspire him to get something done. When he went to their bedroom he noticed her clothes laying on the bed, and decided to join her.

Cecelia heard the bathroom door open and was pleasantly surprised to see her husband standing there, eyes locked on her. Abruptly, she stopped rinsing out her hair and turned toward the glass shower doors.

"Room for one more?" He asked, slowly taking off his clothes.

She batted her eyes flirtatiously and stepped back to let him inside. He walked in and took a step toward her, closing the short distance between them. He lifted his hand to stroke her cheek, their eyes locked on one another. He tilted his head to the side and started kissing her gently, first on the mouth, then working his way down her jaw until he gave her a love bite at the nape of her neck, sending a chill down her spine. She took his face in her hands and crushed his lips to hers, pressing her breasts against his pecs. It was utter perfection.

When they finished their foreplay, they both got out of the shower and took their passion into the bedroom, where they made love for the first time since Pegasus' soul was released. The passion between them was intense, the heat unmatchable. He took the time to make sure she knew how much he loved her and cared for her. Every movement was carefully orchestrated to bring her body to the ultimate climax. Sensation became everything, and her body was awash with it. When she finally got there, her body exploded like a star into space, and she cried out his name.

They laid there for a while in the bed, just enjoying the quiet. Occasionally they remembered to share chaste kisses, but that was about it. Cecelia lay on her side, staring out the window. Maximillion was behind her, arms wrapped around her stomach. The love he felt for her and their future child was immeasurable. He moved a lock of hair behind her ear. She was so beautiful. So absolutely perfect. He wondered how he had gotten lucky enough to have an angel like her love a demon like him.

She sighed. "What is it, love?" He asked.

"I'm just going to miss this. We won't have time for it when the baby comes."

"We can make time." He assured her.

"You think?"

"Of course."

"We still have so much to do, so much to plan... How are we going to do it all in time?"

"We're not doing it alone, darling. We have plenty of people willing to help. Don't worry about it."

"You know I can't stop worrying that easily."

"It would be a good time to learn."

She finally cracked a smile. "You wish."

"Yes I do."

She laughed, then turned to face him. "I know we aren't doing this alone, but I don't want us to be those parents whose nanny knows their child better than they do. I want to be an active parent. I want to raise this baby my way."

"And so you will. Just because other people may help us out from time to time doesn't mean you'll be any less involved in our child's life. You'll be their mother, and they'll love you more than anything. You'll be amazing, my dove. Absolutely stunning. I know it."

They were the words she needed to hear. She pressed a kiss to his lips.

"I know it's a little early, but I think we should start thinking about names."

"I think you're right. Have any in mind?"

She listed off a few, and her husband looked contemplative. He was moving her choices around in his head, trying to figure out what sounded good. When he noticed her clearly waiting for his response, he blushed.

"Oh well. We have all the time in the world to think about names. Let's just enjoy the time we have together right now."

She smiled softly at him. "Sounds perfect to me."

She held his face in her hands and started kissing him all over again.


	31. Ordinary Miracles

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: Have wish, will grant! The sort of sequel to accidents is up now! Check out "Dream"! I hope you love it, and this chapter too!**

" **The ordinary miracle.  
A common kind of miracle that runs right by  
or maybe it's too gradual to catch your eye  
so you miss it.**

 **A sudden bolt of distant lightning.  
Cathedrals rising out of stone.  
A baby starts to walk and talk one day  
then, shockingly, he's grown**

 **Of all the many miracles.  
Mysterious and marvelous and big and small.  
When people fall in love it really beats them all.  
Oh, to see it,  
to feel it,  
to know it**

 **Imagine someone to love who loves you.  
Imagine to look in her eyes and see.  
Imagine how extraordinary it would be  
if an ordinary miracle  
happened to me." -"Ordinary Miracle" from The Hunchback Of Notre Dame II**

Pegasus and Cecelia spent the next few weeks settling back into the lives they shared before all the madness with Dartz began. Of course that was easier said than done, considering it seemed like a lifetime ago. But they adjusted rather quickly to their daily schedules. And in the meantime, they prepared for the arrival of their baby. Max had insisted that Cecelia go on bed rest, fearing that anymore activity might cause more hemorrhaging. So she stayed in his office as he worked, reading books on pregnancy and child rearing. In turn, Max began the long and arduous task of painting the nursery. As much as he wanted Cecelia there with him to gage her opinion, he knew that breathing in paint fumes would not be good for her in her current condition. So it would just have to be a surprise. A few weeks went by so fast that they didn't know where the time had gone. But now that she was back at home, her pregnancy symptoms stuck back with a vengeance.

Her nausea came back full force, so she made sure she was always near a bathroom and had a glass of water along with a few alka-seltzer tablets sitting on a nearby table. It was the only thing that made her feel well enough to eat.

Around that time, she started to experience serious cravings. Sometimes she wanted brownies with chips and cheese. Others Asian rice with caramel frosting and apple pieces or sauerkraut with Oreos and pickles. No one craving was dominant over another, and they changed drastically by the day. When her husband was home to see them, he couldn't help but laugh. She would always give him a dirty look, but kept eating. He would sometimes have to leave the room when she had a craving because some of them were so bizarre and disgusting they made him feel nauseous.

She also experienced intense and violent mood swings. She would bounce from happy to sad to angry to anxious within hours. Although Max wasn't around as much as Croquet or Chemo, he was the brunt of most of her emotional turmoil. Mostly because she knew he wouldn't care if she vented to him.

The final pregnancy symptom that really gave her trouble was the headaches, back pain, and heartburn. The heartburn was somewhat controllable with an antacid. The headaches, however, were almost unbearable. Her head pounded and throbbed, and she yearned for relief, but nothing seemed to work. The back pain kept her off her feet as much as possible, although she did try to get at least a little exercise every day. When things got to be too much, she reminded herself of why she was enduring it in the first place, and the pain would lessen- if only a little.

During the last week of her fourth month, Maximillion took a day off to go with his wife to find out the sex of their baby. Cecelia herself couldn't sleep the night before, unable to turn off her thoughts at the time. The flight then limo ride to the office seemed to take hours, so when they finally pulled into the parking lot it was a relief. When they got out Cecelia gripped her husband's hand tightly. He kissed her cheek in hopes of calming her down slightly. It didn't work, but he didn't mind. She was flying on cloud nine, and seeing her so happy was all he could ask for. She signed in and moved to sit next to Max as she waited for her name to be called. The wait for this ultrasound seemed to be longer than the last. She knew it was all in her head and that it only seemed that way because her husband was with her this time and because this one would tell her the sex of their baby. When her minutes in purgatory were up, the nurse called her back and she giddily made her way to the exam room. The nurse asked her a few questions about how she'd been feeling before leaving. She squeezed Max's hand tightly.

"What are you hoping for?" She asked. He smiled at her.

"I don't have a preference. Do you?"

"No. Healthy will do."

"Agreed."

The doctor came in. "Hello Mrs. Pegasus."

"Hello doctor."

She lifted up her shirt where the first of her baby bump was beginning to form. She shivered slightly when the gel came in contact with her skin, but was prepared for it. She squeezed Max's hand and kissed him as the technician moved the transducer. Suddenly, a familiar sound filled her ears and she squeezed her husband's hand again as the heartbeat filled the room. When the picture filled the screen, she looked up at him and smiled at the wonder-filled look on his face. She smiled as she watched the baby move.

Maximillion Pegasus had seen some amazing things in his life. His wife, of course, was one. The millennium items were another. The pyramids of Egypt, and the aurora borealis were two others. But absolutely nothing could have beat this. Seeing his child move within his wife was better than any millennium magic he had ever seen, and he stared at it in awe and wonder.

"Would you like to know the sex?" He asked. Her breathing hitched. This was the moment she'd been anticipating. She would finally know the sex of her baby.

"Yes." She said, nodding.

"Congratulations Mr. And Mrs. Pegasus, it's a girl." She looked up at Max, who held the most ridiculous grin on his face.

"Thank you, Doctor." She said, smiling brightly.

"You're welcome." He said with a nod before exiting the room.

The two of them shared a passionate kiss. Max led her back to the limo and they started excitedly thinking and talking about names, clothes, and every other thing their child could possibly need. They flew back home, where they shared the wonderful news with the staff.

Things were finally falling into place.


	32. Small Gifts

**Author's Note: Dark Yugi: I hope you love this chapter and the new ones in "Dream"!**

 **"Miracles happen everyday, change your perception of what a miracle is and you'll see them all around you." -Jon Bon Jovi**

Time had seemingly become a divider in the Pegasus household. As slowly as it was creeping by for Cecelia, that's how fast is was passing by for Pegasus. It was passing so quickly in fact that he was beginning to feel like he was in a pressure cooker. The pressure to finish the nursery got more intense by the day, and his busy work schedule wasn't exactly making things any easier. The good part, however, was that now he knew the gender of the baby and could design the nursery accordingly. And he had planned one spectacular display, that was for sure. He couldn't wait to see the look on his wife's face when it was finished!

Cecelia, for her part, felt the exact opposite of her husband. She wanted to do more, but was on strict orders from her doctors to stay in bed rest. The only thing she could really do was shop for clothes and furniture online. Not that that wasn't fun (she enjoyed shopping as much as the next woman) but it didn't take the place of being up and around. The days seemingly passed by in an endless string of sameness and she felt like she was going to go crazy from the boredom, when out of the blue, something seemingly normal blew her out of the water.

It was on a sunny Wednesday afternoon. Cecelia had been reading in the study while her husband made business phone calls and sending emails all day long. It seemed to be a particularly busy day for him. She had been in the middle of reading when she felt the strangest sensation in her stomach. At first she thought that maybe it was just gas or her stomach acting up again, so she went back to reading her book, but when it happened again, she stopped and felt irrationally annoyed. How was she supposed to concentrate on her baby if this kept up?

Wait... The baby... That was it!

The book she'd been holding careened to the floor with a thump as Cecelia sat in her seat in shock. Her mouth hung open and she wasn't moving. Pegasus heard the book hit the floor and looked up while on a conference call with his board of directors. The look on her face raised a red flag right off the bat, and he quickly murmured to them that he would call them back. Before they could get even a word out the phone was back in it's cradle and Pegasus was sprinting across the large room to get to his wife, kneeling in front of her.

"Cecelia? Darling, are you alright? Say something." He pleaded, worried sick. His words seemed to break through to her and she looked down at him, smiling. She took his hand and placed it on her stomach. He waited, expecting her to say something, but she didn't, and it made him even more nervous. "Cecelia, I don't understand. What's-" and he stopped right in the middle of his sentence when he felt it.

A tiny kick from inside his wife's stomach.

He sucked in a breath so quickly that it sounded more like a gasp. He stared at her stomach in complete awe, trying to will it to happen again. For a few minutes nothing happened, but then he felt it again, and looked up at his wife. The biggest smile broke out on his face and for a moment she thought it was going to tear his face apart because he was smiling so hard. It broke her out of her own semi-conscious daze and she smiled with tears in her eyes.

"She's moving," she whispered, placing her hand over her husband's. "Our baby girl is moving."

Pegasus leaned over and kissed his wife with all the tenderness and love that he could muster. He thought about how he'd loved her before when it had been just the two of them. He had been so certain that he could never love her anymore than he already did. This moment proved to him that he was wrong. The love that burst open in his heart like the finale of a fireworks show was massive and intense in its purity. She had always been beautiful, but now she was radiant. He supposed that's what they meant when they talked about pregnant women glowing. Boy were they right.

This was his own personal miracle. He couldn't believe that it had just happened, and to him no less! He was shocked at the idea that someone so small could have such a huge impact on him. But it had happened.

He spent a few minutes celebrating with his wife before he reluctantly went back to work. But now he was pushing himself to finish faster. Feeling that little kick had kicked him into overdrive, and he planned to finish that nursery tonight, even if it took him all night long to complete. He got lucky, and a few of his scheduled appointments got cancelled, so he was actually able to leave at a decent time tonight. He went up to his art studio, grabbed his smock, an Arsenal of paint brushes and rollers, and of course the paints that he knew he would need to make the image in his head a reality. He had Croquet and Chemo help him carry everything, and then set out to do his work. Every detail had to be attended to, every brushstroke had to be exact. He owed it to his family and to himself to make this the best work he had ever done, and that was exactly what he intended to do. The hours flew by, but he was too engrossed in his work to notice. When he finally finished the last wall he glanced at his watch. It was two in the morning. Only then did he realize the true extent of his exhaustion. Yawning, he decided to get some sleep, and went to bed feeling a great sense of accomplishment.

His work was finally done.


	33. Preparations

**Author's Note: So glad you all are loving this fic! Please review!**

 **"Let us not pray to be sheltered from dangers but to be fearless when facing them." -Rabindranath Tagore  
**  
Pegasus opened every window in the nursery and let it air out over the next two days. Cecelia pestered him again and again about seeing it, but he insisted she wait until he was sure it was safe for her to go in. But every few hours, he peeked inside to make sure things were going okay, and every time they were fine. His peeking drove his wife crazy

Cecelia spent much of her time that next month starting to design a nursery for their baby. She had finally bypassed the worst of her morning sickness and was able to be slightly more active. She had made most of the big furniture choices early on. She ran it all by Max, of course, and he gave her the green light to spend however much she liked on it. She ran every idea past him for his opinion, but he was mostly a passive participant in the act.

The time spent away from him was spent shopping for material things for the baby- monitors, burping cloths, a car seat, and everything needed to child-proof the house.

Finally, her two days of purgatory were up. Max had Croquet open the door and put his hands over her eyes to make sure she didn't peek as he led her inside.

"Ready?" He asked.

She nodded and he took his hands away. "Open your eyes!"

She did, and gasped.

It was breathtaking. Three of the walls were a light pink- the kind of color you'd associate with any little girl's nursery. they were normal as could be. But the east wall was what really caught her eye. It was painted to be a giant sunset. The ceiling, accordingly, faded until it was black as night. Pegasus had already planned to stick glow in the dark stars on it. He looked at the shocked look on his wife's face and felt a sense of pride in the fact that he could still surprise her.

"Oh, Max..." She whispered, pulling him to her. "It's incredible..." She leaned her head on his chest and felt him kiss the crown of her head.

"I'm so glad you like it. I hope the baby will, too."

"I'm sure she'll love it!" She reassured him. He wrapped his arms around her and rested both hands on her stomach, where he felt the baby kicking.

He couldn't have been more excited.

When the furniture came, she and Croquet spent hours on end trying to piece it together. When Max wasn't working he helped and had a far easier time with it. His wife assumed that it was just easier for men. It was simply in their genes. Toward the end of the month, they finally got everything assembled and started trying to decide how it would be arranged. She decided to put the crib near the window, along with the changing table. She put a toy chest across the room from there, along with a small bookshelf. Adjacent to that was a closet and hamper. A rocking chair sat in the back corner and a dresser lined the back wall. When she showed her husband the final product, they were both pleased. It looked absolutely perfect.

Cecelia spent the next few days shopping for clothes for her baby. She had also taken the liberty of finding a qualified nanny for those evenings when she and Max wanted to be alone. She spent days interviewing potential candidates, before deciding on a young professional named Louise. While she was in the area, she invited the new nanny to come with her. She and Louise went out together for the day, and bonded well. By the end of the day, Cecelia felt that they had become close friends. They spent the day shopping and went out for lunch. They had already discussed a plan for who would care for the baby. Cecelia of course wanted to take care of her herself, but Louise offered to night nurse her when she was needed. And they agreed. With everything set, the only things left to do before her child was born were go to prenatal check ups. To her, it was smooth sailing from here on out.

Everything seemed to be falling into place. The nursery was finally done, All the clothes were put away, they had a nanny picked out, and the baby was on track with development, despite Cecelia's hemorrhaging earlier in her pregnancy. Maximillion could finally relax when he finished work for the day, Instead of having to worry over when he was going to finish the nursery. There was finally peace in their home.

That night, Pegasus lay awake long after his wife had gone to sleep. His mind mulled over all the changes he and his wife had gone through in the past few months. He had always wanted a life with his wife- that he had never had any doubt about. But he had never pictured himself as a father. That wasn't to say he wasn't up to the challenge- because he was- he was just afraid of letting the tiny baby inside of his wife down. This new baby would be looking to him for an example. She would be depending on him for everything. That made him feel more than a little anxious. But he found slight comfort in the idea that Cecelia most likely felt the same way- probably even more so for her because she was the same sex parent. He read that the same sex parent always had more influence on the child than the parent of the opposite gender. Unconsciously, he wrapped his arms around his wife. This was going to be the toughest challenge he had ever faced, but whatever life threw at him, he knew he wouldn't be facing it alone. He and his wife would stand up and face it together as a team. Finding peace of mind in that simple truth, Pegasus shut his eyes and was finally able to get some sleep.


	34. Unexpected

**"I've been to church,  
I've read the book,  
I know He's there,  
But I don't look,  
near as often as I should,  
His fingerprints are everywhere,  
I just look down and stop and stare,  
open my eyes and then I swear,  
I Saw God Today." -"I Saw God Today" by George Strait**

A few more weeks went by all too slowly. Every day Cecelia's stomach grew a little bigger and her clothes got a little tighter. By the time her sixth month rolled around, she was in maternity clothes full time. Other than prenatal checkups, Cecelia didn't do much other than lay around the house. But she wasn't worried. She would need all the rest she could get when the baby finally came.

It started out as an average day.

Max would always wake up first, at five fifteen exactly every morning. He would drag himself out of bed and get into the bathroom. He would use the restroom, shower for ten minutes, then shave. He would get dressed, put on cologne, then go to kiss his wife. Every morning she would wake up to the feel of his lips, the sound of his voice, and the scent of his favorite cologne. They would always go downstairs and have breakfast together on the back patio. After that Max would head off to work in his office by six, and Cecelia pull out her list of things to do that day. After that, Cecelia had the day to spend as she pleased. She often spent her time reading, gardening, and solving crossword puzzles. Her husband would be done by six thirty at the latest. The two of them would eat dinner together, then spend time together in the living room. After that there was a few hours of free time before they would retire to their bedroom for the night. They would always get to bed at eleven to do it all over again the next day.

But that night, Cecelia started getting cramps.

At first she was terrified that she was going to start hemorrhaging again like she had before, but as quickly as the cramp was there it was gone. She tried to get some sleep, but just as she was hovering between consciousness and unconsciousness, she was hit with another cramp, along with a strange gushing feeling. She almost screamed out of fear, but she went over and turned the light on calmly, and looked down at the bed where she'd been laying.

It wasn't blood. It was water.

She sucked in a breath. Oh _shit_.

She leapt onto the bed and shook her husband's shoulder harshly.

"Max! Max, wake up!"

"Wha? What is it, what's wrong?" He asked, shooting up from the bed.

"Max, my water broke."

It took his sleep addled mind a minute to comprehend what she was saying, but when he did, his eye widened and he bolted out the bedroom door. He banged on Croquet's door and barked out his orders to get helicopter ready now before running back to his wife, who was getting dressed. He haphazardly got dressed himself before ushering Cecelia onto the castle rooftop. Croquet was in the chopper, ready to leave. The two expecting parents hopped in, shut the door and were flown to the hospital.

Maximillion had his wife lay down across a few seats while he knelt down by her side. He held her hand gently, pressed gentle kisses to her forehead, and tried to keep himself as calm as he possibly could, even though every second that went by was tearing at his soul. When the hospital was finally in sight, the tightness of the anxiety that pressed at his chest lessened slightly. He pulled Cecelia into his arms as they landed and laid her on the gurney that was waiting for her outside of the helicopter, and ran beside her as they wheeled her to the maternity ward.

For those first few hours after the pain began, Cecelia stayed fairly calm. She thanked her husband when he pressed a cool rag to her forehead and appreciated his words of encouragement when he told her how amazingly brave she was. She even apologized when she squeezed his hand a little too tight and made him wince. But as time wore on, her patience and optimism were being stretched to their limits. When the sixth hour hit, she began to lose her positivity and excitement over what was happening. The reprieves between the pain were becoming shorter and shorter, and as the time between pains shortened, so did her temper. As much as she loved her husband, he was beginning to get on her nerves. It didn't matter if he said something or if he stayed quiet, he was driving her mad.

By the time twelve hours had gone by, she was a cast iron bitch.

She had begged and pleaded for an epidural to numb her pain, but the Doctor told her it was too late for that now.

Seventeen grueling hours of enduring the pain had gone by, and she was enraged by the pain that seemed to overwhelm her with every contraction. Max was talking to her, trying to be encouraging, but it wasn't working.

"Breathe, darling. You heard the doctor. It won't be much longer."

She was wretching inside her bed, shrieking as the pain tore her apart from the inside out.

Finally, the doctor checked her cervix and declared that it was time for her to push.

The pain was inhuman, and almost intolerable. She'd thought the contractions were bad, but this... This was hell on earth. It seemed like it would never end. But, with one final push, her torment ended, and a cry pierced her ears.

"Congratulations Mrs. Pegasus, it's a girl."

Her vision was blurred, but she reached up for the baby being held up by the doctor.

Please, can I hold her?" She asked. The nurses exchanged worried glances, but nodded.

"Just for a minute."

A little pink bundle was placed in her arms, and suddenly everything in her world stopped.

Her little eyes were closed, but she had the most perfect little lips and button nose that Cecelia had ever seen. The love that burst open inside of her was indescribable.

"She's perfect."

"Dad, would you like to cut the cord?" Asked the doctor. He did, before Cecelia handed her to him to hold.

The second his eyes landed on her face, he fell in love with her. She was the most perfect being he had ever seen. He felt a tear run down his face.

"Oh Cecelia... Thank you."

But before he could do anything more, the tiny baby was taken from his arms and into the NICU.


	35. Epilogue

**"Got my face pressed up against the nursery glass,  
she's sleeping like a rock,  
my name on her wrist,  
wearing tiny pink socks,  
she's got my nose,  
she's got her Mama's eyes,  
my brand new baby girl,  
she's a miracle,  
I Saw God Today." -"I Saw God Today" by George Strait**

Cecelia slept for a long time after her labor. She had completely worn herself out. When she woke up, it was twelve hours later. She looked over to see Maximillion asleep in the chair beside her. She tried to go back to sleep, but it was a fruitless endeavor. So she stared at the ceiling, wondering about her child until her husband awoke.

"Cecelia darling, how long have you been up?" He asked wearily.

"An hour or so."

"Why didn't you wake me?"

"Because you needed the sleep, Max. You were just as exhausted by the labor as any of those doctors. You needed some rest."

Pegasus glanced toward the door.

"Any word yet on the baby?" She shook her head no. "What if she dies?" It was her worst fear. He took both her hands and clasped them in his own.

"Don't think like that. She's going to be okay."

"But what if-" Max put a finger to her lips to stop her.

"When you do that you're only hurting yourself. Have a little faith."

"Faith isn't exactly my strong point." She murmured.

"Well it's about to get a good work out." He said, sadly.

"That's an understatement." Her cynical tone surprised him.

For a long time they sat there together, hoping and praying that their baby would be okay. Cecelia didn't know what else to do. This was her baby. The first child she had ever loved that had grown inside of her. If she was gone, she didn't know what she'd do. When a doctor finally arrived, she felt her throat constrict. She wanted to speak, but no sound would come out.

"Mr. And Mrs. Pegasus?" He asked with a thick accent. They nodded.

"She'll have to stay in the NICU for a few days, but you'll be able to take her home. She should be fine."

The second he said those words, Cecelia felt such tremendous relief that she nearly fell over. Maximillion kept her steady and smiled.

"Thank you, doctor."

The doctor nodded. "Anytime."

Five days later, both Cecelia and her baby were discharged from the hospital. As the three of them were driven home, She couldn't help but think about the dramatic turn that her life had taken. She had her friends, she had her love, and most importantly, she had her family. As they drove up the driveway, Cecelia smiled at the sight of her home. The sun was just beginning to set on the horizon, giving the trees a majestic glow about them. As she got out of the car and got her daughter out of the car seat, she took her husband's hand as they officially started on one of the greatest journeys of their lifetimes: parenthood.

That day, Max had one more piece of business to attend to before he could say his work was done for the day. The helicopter landed on the rooftop, and Croquet led their guest inside. When all was said and done, their guest was taken back home, and the first time parents were left to their own devices.

It was a few days later in Domino City that something special took place. For Yugi Moto, it started out as an average day. He went to school, hung out with his friends, and did his chores as he was expected to. It wasn't until later that evening that something changed. A knock came at his bedroom door.

"Come in!" He called. In walked Solomon Moto, Yugi's grandfather, holding an envelope.

"This came in the mail for you today." He said.

"Oh? I wonder who it could be from."

He looked on the envelope, but there was no return address. He checked the stamp and saw something familiar. The symbol of industrial illusions. He now knew exactly who this was from. When he opened up the envelope, two pictures and a letter spilled out. He decided to read the letter first.

 _Dear Yugi-Boy,_

 _If it weren't for you protecting her, Cecelia would not be back in my arms again, so I thank you for that from the bottom of my heart. Thanks to your bravery, my new family is flourishing. We wanted to find some way to thank you for all you've done for us. For right now, however, this is what we could spare. If you ever need something, I'll be there. May you and your friends be happy._

 _Thanks  
-M. P._

Yugi smiled at the letter and then picked up the two pictures. The first was of Pegasus and Cecelia smiling at the camera and holding a pink bundle of blankets. Yugi couldn't help but grin when he saw how genuinely happy they seemed to be. He set down that picture and looked at the other one. It was newborn shots of their baby girl.

The little girl, who couldn't have been much longer than Yugi's forearm, was in several different positions in the pictures, but was always laying on what seemed to be pink silk. Many of them were of just her, but a few of them included her happy parents. Of the ones containing just her, her eyes were shut and her mouth was just slightly open. She was the picture of innocence, and it made him smile. When he looked down at the bottom of the picture, he saw the stats they had on her.

 _Rosalie Alison Pegasus  
April 24, 2015  
11:34 AM  
5 pounds 7 oz  
18 1/2 in. Long  
St. Joseph's Memorial Hospital _

Yugi looked over at Yami, who was looking at the photos too.

"Pretty cool, huh?"

"Yes. It's good to see Pegasus happy." Yugi nodded.

"It's good to know he won't be taking over the world anymore." He added. Yami chuckled.

"That too." Yugi picked up the letter and pinned it to his wall. He couldn't wait to show his friends the pictures in the morning. He climbed into bed that night feeling happy and at peace. The same feeling that Pegasus had hundreds of miles away. He went to sleep that night with a smile on his face.

This was exactly where he belonged.

 **Author's Note: We made it through another story, guys! Thank you to everyone who reviewed and made this possible! I do have more ideas for this plot, but I want to put it in another story because it would be formatted differently. So keep your eyes peeled for a possible sequel in the future! Thanks for reading everyone!**


End file.
